Text -- 2 Corinthians 1:1-24 (NET)

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia. 1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving for God’s Comfort

1:3 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow toward us, so also our comfort through Christ overflows to you. 1:6 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort that you experience in your patient endurance of the same sufferings that we also suffer. 1:7 And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort. 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, regarding the affliction that happened to us in the province of Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of living. 1:9 Indeed we felt as if the sentence of death had been passed against us, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 1:10 He delivered us from so great a risk of death, and he will deliver us. We have set our hope on him that he will deliver us yet again, 1:11 as you also join in helping us by prayer, so that many people may give thanks to God on our behalf for the gracious gift given to us through the help of many.

Paul Defends His Changed Plans

1:12 For our reason for confidence is this: the testimony of our conscience, that with pure motives and sincerity which are from God– not by human wisdom but by the grace of God– we conducted ourselves in the world, and all the more toward you. 1:13 For we do not write you anything other than what you can read and also understand. But I hope that you will understand completely 1:14 just as also you have partly understood us, that we are your source of pride just as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. 1:15 And with this confidence I intended to come to you first so that you would get a second opportunity to see us, 1:16 and through your help to go on into Macedonia and then from Macedonia to come back to you and be helped on our way into Judea by you. 1:17 Therefore when I was planning to do this, I did not do so without thinking about what I was doing, did I? Or do I make my plans according to mere human standards so that I would be saying both “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 1:18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No.” 1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us– by me and Silvanus and Timothy– was not “Yes” and “No,” but it has always been “Yes” in him. 1:20 For every one of God’s promises are “Yes” in him; therefore also through him the “Amen” is spoken, to the glory we give to God. 1:21 But it is God who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anointed us, 1:22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a down payment.

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth. 1:24 I do not mean that we rule over your faith, but we are workers with you for your joy, because by faith you stand firm.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Co 1:1

And Timothy ( kai Timotheos ).

Timothy is with Paul, having been sent on to Macedonia from Ephesus (Act 19:22). He is in no sense Corinthians-author any more than Sosthenes was in 1Co 1:1.

Robertson: 2Co 1:1

In all Achaia ( en holēi tēi Achaiāi ).

The Romans divided Greece into two provinces (Achaia and Macedonia). Macedonia included also Illyricum, Epirus, and Thessaly. Achaia was all of Greece south of this (both Attica and the Peloponnesus). The restored Corinth was made the capital of Achaia where the pro-consul resided (Act 18:12). He does not mention other churches in Achaia outside of the one in Corinth, but only "saints"(hagiois ). Athens was in Achaia, but it is not clear that there was as yet a church there, though some converts had been won (Act 17:34), and there was a church in Cenchreae, the eastern port of Corinth (Rom 16:1). Paul in 2Co 9:2 speaks of Achaia and Macedonia together. His language here would seem to cover the whole (holēi , all) of Achaia in his scope and not merely the environment around Corinth.

Robertson: 2Co 1:2

@@Identical with 1Co 1:3 which see.

Robertson: 2Co 1:3

Blessed ( eulogētos ).

From old verb eulogeō , to speak well of, but late verbal in lxx and Philo. Used of men in Gen 24:31, but only of God in N.T. as in Luk 1:68 and chiefly in Paul (2Co 11:31; Rom 1:25). Paul has no thanksgiving or prayer as in 1Co 1:4-9, but he finds his basis for gratitude in God, not in them.

Robertson: 2Co 1:3

The God and Father ( ho theos kai patēr ).

So rightly, only one article with both substantives as in 2Pe 1:1. Paul gives the deity of Jesus Christ as our Lord (Kuriou ), but he does not hesitate to use the language here as it occurs. See 1Pe 1:3; Eph 1:3 where the language is identical with that here.

Robertson: 2Co 1:3

The father of mercies ( ho patēr tōn oiktirmōn )

and God of all comfort (kai theos pasēs paraklēseōs ). Paul adds an item to each word. He is the compassionate Father characterized by mercies (oiktirmōn , old word from oikteirō , to pity, and here in plural, emotions and acts of pity). He is the God of all comfort (paraklēseōs , old word from parakaleō , to call to one’ s side, common with Paul). Paul has already used it of God who gave eternal comfort (2Th 2:16). The English word comfort is from the Latin confortis (brave together). The word used by Jesus of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter or Paraklete is this very word (Joh 14:16; Joh 16:7). Paul makes rich use of the verb parakaleō and the substantive paraklēsis in this passage (2Co 1:3-7). He urges all sorrowing and troubled hearts to find strength in God.

Robertson: 2Co 1:4

In all our affliction ( epi pasēi tēi thlipsei hēmōn ).

Thlipsis is from thlibō , to press, old and common word, as tribulation is from Latin tribulum (roller). See note on Mat 13:21 and note on 1Th 1:6. The English affliction is Latin afflictio from ad-fligere , to strike on.

Robertson: 2Co 1:4

That we may be able to comfort ( eis to dunasthai hēmas parakalein ).

Purpose clause with eis and the articular infinitive with the accusative of general reference, a common idiom. Paul here gives the purpose of affliction in the preacher’ s life, in any Christian’ s life, to qualify him for ministry to others. Otherwise it will be professional and perfunctory.

Robertson: 2Co 1:4

Wherewith ( hēs ).

Genitive case of the relative attracted to that of the antecedent paraklēseōs . The case of the relative here could have been either the accusative hēn with the passive verb retained as in Mar 10:38 or the instrumental hēi . Either is perfectly good Greek (cf. Eph 1:6; Eph 4:1). Personal experience of God’ s comfort is necessary before we can pass it on to others.

Robertson: 2Co 1:5

The sufferings of Christ ( ta pathēmata tou Christou ).

Subjective genitive, Christ’ s own sufferings.

Robertson: 2Co 1:5

Abound unto us ( perisseuei eis hēmas ).

Overflow unto us so that we suffer like sufferings and become fellow sufferers with Christ (2Co 4:10.; Rom 8:17; Phi 3:10; Col 1:24).

Robertson: 2Co 1:5

Through Christ ( dia tou Christou ).

The overflow (perisseuei ) of comfort comes also through Christ. Is Paul thinking of how some of the Jewish Christians in Corinth have become reconciled with him through Christ? Partnership with Christ in suffering brings partnership in glory also (Rom 8:17; 1Pe 4:13).

Robertson: 2Co 1:6

Whether ( eite )

- or (eite ). The alternatives in Paul’ s experience (afflicted thlibometha , comforted parakaloumetha ) work out for their good when they are called on to endure like sufferings "which we also suffer"(hōn kai hēmeis paschomen ). The relative hōn is attracted from neuter accusative plural ha to genitive case of the antecedent pathēmatōn (sufferings).

Robertson: 2Co 1:7

Our hope for you ( hē elpis hēmōn huper humōn ).

The old word elpis , from elpizō , to hope, has the idea of waiting with expectation and patience. So here it is "steadfast"(bebaia , stable, fast, from bainō , to plant the feet down).

Robertson: 2Co 1:7

Partakers ( Koinéōnoi ).

Partners as in Luk 5:10.||

Robertson: 2Co 1:8

Concerning our affliction ( huper tēs thlipseōs hēmōn ).

Manuscripts read also peri for in the Koiné[28928]š huper (over) often has the idea of peri (around). Paul has laid down his philosophy of afflictions and now he cites a specific illustration in his own recent experience.

Robertson: 2Co 1:8

In Asia ( en Asiāi ).

Probably in Ephesus, but what it was we do not know whether sickness or peril. We do know that the disciples and the Asiarchs would not allow Paul to face the mob in the amphitheatre gathered by Demetrius (Act 20:30.). In Rom 16:4 Paul says that Prisca and Aquila laid down their necks for him, risked their very lives for him. It may have been a later plot to kill Paul that hastened his departure from Ephesus (Act 20:1). He had a trial so great that "we were weighed down exceedingly beyond our power"(kath' huperbolēn huper dunamin ebarēthēmen ). Old verb from baros , weight, barus , weighty. First aorist passive indicative. See note on 1Co 12:31 for kath' huperbolēn (cf. our hyperbole). It was beyond Paul’ s power to endure if left to himself.

Robertson: 2Co 1:8

Insomuch that we despaired even of life ( hōste exaporēthēnai hēmas kai tou zēin ).

Usual clause of result with hōste and the infinitive. First aorist passive infinitive exaporēthēnai , late compound for utter despair (perfective use of ex and at a complete loss, a privative and poros , way). There seemed no way out.

Robertson: 2Co 1:8

Of life ( tou zēin ).

Ablative case of the articular infinitive, of living.

Robertson: 2Co 1:9

Yea ( alla ).

Confirmatory use as in 2Co 7:11, rather than adversative.

Robertson: 2Co 1:9

The answer of death ( to apokrima tou thanatou )

This late word from apokrinomai , to reply, occurs nowhere else in N.T., but is in Josephus, Polybius, inscriptions and papyri (Deissmann, Bible Studies , p. 257; Moulton and Milligan’ s Vocabulary ), and always in the sense of decision or judgment rendered. But Vulgate renders it by responsum and that idea suits best here, unless Paul conceives God as rendering the decision of death.

Robertson: 2Co 1:9

We ourselves have had within ourselves ( autoi en heautois eschēkamen ).

Regular perfect of echō , to have. And still have the vivid recollection of that experience. For this lively dramatic use of the present perfect indicative for a past experience see also eschēka in 2Co 2:13 (Moulton, Prolegomena , p. 143f.; Robertson, Grammar , p. 896f.).

Robertson: 2Co 1:9

That we should not trust in ourselves ( hina mē pepoithotes ōmen Ephesians' heautois ).

A further purpose of God in affliction beyond that in 2Co 1:4. "This dreadful trial was sent to him in order to give him a precious spiritual lesson (2Co 12:7-10)"(Robertson and Plummer). Note periphrastic perfect active subjunctive of peithō , to persuade.

Robertson: 2Co 1:9

In ( epi )

, upon, both ourselves and God.

Robertson: 2Co 1:10

Out of so great a death ( ek tēlikoutou thanatou ).

He had considered himself as good as dead.

Robertson: 2Co 1:10

Delivered ( erusato )

Robertson: 2Co 1:10

- will deliver ( rusetai ).

Old verb ruō , middle, ruomai , draw oneself, as out of a pit, rescue. So Paul faces death without fear.

Robertson: 2Co 1:10

On whom we have set our hope ( eis hon ēlpikamen ).

Perfect active indicative of elpizō . We still have that hope, emphasized by eti rusetai (he will still deliver).

Robertson: 2Co 1:11

Ye also helping together on our behalf ( sunupourgountōn kai humōn huper hēmōn ).

Genitive absolute with present active participle of late compound verb (sun and hupourgeō for hupo and ergon ). Paul relied on God and felt the need of the prayer of God’ s people.

Robertson: 2Co 1:11

By means of many ( ek pollōn prosōpōn ).

Prosōpon means face (pros , ops ). The word is common in all Greek. The papyri use it for face, appearance, person. It occurs twelve times in II Corinthians. It certainly means face in eight of them (2Co 3:7, 2Co 3:13, 2Co 3:18; 2Co 8:24; 2Co 10:1, 2Co 10:7; 2Co 11:20). In 2Co 5:12 it means outward appearance. It may mean face or person here, 2Co 2:10; 2Co 4:6. It is more pictorial to take it here as face "that out of many upturned faces"thanks may be given (hinȧ̇eucharistēthēi first aorist passive subjunctive) for the gift to us by means of many (dia pollon ). It is indeed a difficult sentence to understand.

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

Glorying ( kauchēsis ).

Act of glorying, while in 2Co 1:14 kauchēma is the thing boasted of.

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

The testimony of our conscience ( to marturion tēs suneidēseōs hēmōn ).

In apposition with kauchēsis .

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

Sincerity of God ( eilikrineiāi tou theou ).

Like dikaiosunē theou (Rom 1:17; Rom 3:21), the God-kind of righteousness. So the God-kind (genitive case) of sincerity. Late word from eilikrinēs . See note on 1Co 5:8.

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

Not in fleshly wisdom ( ouk en sophiāi sarkikēi ).

See 1Co 1:17; 1Co 2:4, 1Co 2:13. Paul uses sarkikos five times and it occurs only twice elsewhere in N.T. See note on 1Co 3:3.

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

We behaved ourselves ( anestraphēmen ).

Second aorist passive indicative of anastrephō , old verb, to turn back, to turn back and forth, to walk. Here the passive is used as in late Greek as if middle.

Robertson: 2Co 1:12

More abundantly to you-ward ( perissoterōs pros humas ).

They had more abundant opportunity to observe how scrupulous Paul was (Act 18:11).

Robertson: 2Co 1:13

Than what ye read ( all' ē ha anaginōskete ).

Note comparative conjunction ē (than) after all' and that after alla (other things, same word in reality), "other than."Read in Greek (anaginōskō ) is knowing again, recognizing. See note on Act 8:30.

Robertson: 2Co 1:13

Or even acknowledge ( ē kai epiginōskete ).

Paul is fond of such a play on words (anaginōskete , epiginōskete ) or paronomasia. Does he mean "read between the lines,"as we say, by the use of epi (additional knowledge)?

Robertson: 2Co 1:13

Unto the end ( heōs telous ).

The report of Titus showed that the majority now at last understood Paul. He hopes that it will last (1Co 1:8).

Robertson: 2Co 1:14

As also ye did acknowledge us in part ( kathōs kai epegnōte hēmas apo merous ).

Gracious acknowledgment (second aorist active indicative of epignōskō ) to the original Pauline party (1Co 1:12; 1Co 3:4) that he had seemed to care so little for them. And now in his hour of victory he shows that, if he is their ground of glorying, they are his also (cf. 1Th 2:19.; Phi 2:16).||

Robertson: 2Co 1:15

Confidence ( pepoithēsei ).

This late word (lxx Philo, Josephus) is condemned by the Atticists, but Paul uses it a half dozen times (2Co 3:4 also).

Robertson: 2Co 1:15

I was minded to come ( eboulomēn elthein ).

Imperfect, I was wishing to come, picturing his former state of mind.

Robertson: 2Co 1:15

Before unto you ( proteron pros humas ).

This was his former plan (proteron ) while in Ephesus to go to Achaia directly from Ephesus. This he confesses in 2Co 1:16 "and by you to pass into Macedonia."

Robertson: 2Co 1:15

That ye might have a second benefit ( hina deuteran charin schēte ).

Or second "joy"if we accept charan with Westcott and Hort. This would be a real second blessing (or joy) if they should have two visits from Paul.

Robertson: 2Co 1:16

And again ( kai palin ).

This would have been the second benefit or joy. But he changed his plans and did not make that trip directly to Corinth, but came on to Macedonia first (Act 19:21; Act 20:1.; 1Co 16:2; 2Co 2:12).

Robertson: 2Co 1:16

To be set forward by you ( huph' humōn propemphthēnai ).

First aorist passive infinitive of propempō . Paul uses this same verb in Rom 15:24 for the same service by the Roman Christians on his proposed trip to Spain. The Corinthians, especially the anti-Pauline party, took advantage of Paul’ s change of plans to criticize him sharply for vacillation and flippancy. How easy it is to find fault with the preacher! So Paul has to explain his conduct.

Robertson: 2Co 1:17

Did I shew fickleness? ( mēti ara tēi elaphriāi̇ ).

An indignant negative answer is called for by mēti . The instrumental case of elaphriāi is regular after echrēsamēn from chraomai , to use. Elaphria is a late word for levity from the old adjective, elaphros , light, agile (2Co 10:17; Mat 11:30). Here only in N.T.

Robertson: 2Co 1:17

Purpose ( bouleuomai ).

Paul raises the question of fickleness about any of his plans.

Robertson: 2Co 1:17

Yea yea ( Nai nai )

Robertson: 2Co 1:17

- nay nay ( ou ou ).

See a similar repetition in Mat 5:37. It is plain in Jam 5:12 where "the yea"is "yea"and "the nay"is "nay."That seems to be Paul’ s meaning here, "that the Yea may be yea and the Nay may be nay."

Robertson: 2Co 1:18

Is not yea and nay ( ouk estin nai kai ou ).

He is not a Yes and No man, saying Yes and meaning or acting No. Paul calls God to witness on this point.

Robertson: 2Co 1:19

Was not Yea and Nay ( ouk egeneto nai kai ou ).

"Did not become Yes and No."

Robertson: 2Co 1:19

But in him is yea ( alla Nai en autōi gegonen ).

Rather, "But in him Yes has become yes,"has proved true. So Paul appeals to the life of Christ to sustain his own veracity.

Robertson: 2Co 1:20

In him is the yea ( en autōi to Nai ).

Supply gegonen from the preceding sentence, "In him was the Yea come true."This applies to all God’ s promises.

Robertson: 2Co 1:20

The Amen ( to Amēn ).

In public worship (1Co 14:16).

Robertson: 2Co 1:21

Establishes ( bebaiōn ).

Present active participle from bebaios , firm. An apt metaphor in Corinth where confirmation of a bargain often took place (bebaiōsis ) as Deissmann shows ( Bible Studies , p. 109) and as 2Co 1:22 makes plain.

Robertson: 2Co 1:21

Anointed ( chrisas ).

From chriō , to anoint, old verb, to consecrate, with the Holy Spirit here as in 1Jo 2:20.

Robertson: 2Co 1:22

Sealed us ( sphragisamenos hēmas ).

From sphragizō old verb, common in lxx and papyri for setting a seal to prevent opening (Daniel 6:17), in place of signature (1Ki 21:18). Papyri examples show a wide legal use to give validity to documents, to guarantee genuineness of articles as sealing sacks and chests, etc. (Deissmann, Bible Studies , p. 238; Moulton and Milligan’ s Vocabulary ).

Robertson: 2Co 1:22

The earnest of the Spirit ( ton arrabōna tou pneumatos ).

A word of Semitic origin (possibly Phoenician) and spelled both arabōn and arrabōn . It is common in the papyri as earnest money in a purchase for a cow or for a wife (a dowry). In N.T. only here; 2Co 5:5; Eph 1:14. It is part payment on the total obligation and we use the very expression today, "earnest money."It is God, says Paul, who has done all this for us and God is Paul’ s pledge that he is sincere. He will come to Corinth in due time. This earnest of the Spirit in our hearts is the witness of the Spirit that we are God’ s.

Robertson: 2Co 1:23

But I call God for a witness upon my soul ( Egō de martura ton theon epikaloumai epi tēn emēn psuchēn ).

Solemn attestation, "calling heaven to witness is frequent in literature from Homer onwards"(Plummer). Thus God is described above (cf. 1Th 2:5, 1Th 2:10; Rom 1:9; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8).

Robertson: 2Co 1:23

To spare you ( pheidomenos humōn ).

Present middle participle (causal rather than final) of pheidomai , old verb, to hold back, to spare. Ablative case humōn .

Robertson: 2Co 1:24

We have lordship over ( kurieuomen ).

Old verb from kurios , to be lord of or over. See Luk 22:25.

Robertson: 2Co 1:24

Helpers of your joy ( sunergoi tēs charas humōn ).

Corinthians-workers (1Co 3:8) in your joy. A delicate correction to present misapprehension (epanorthōsis ).

Vincent: 2Co 1:1

Timothy our brother

Lit., the brother. Compare 1Co 1:1. Well known in the Christian brotherhood. When Paul writes to Timothy himself he calls him son " (Bengel). Timothy appears, not as amanuensis, nor as joint-author, but as joint-sender of the epistle.

Vincent: 2Co 1:3

The Father of mercies ( ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν )

Equivalent to the compassionate Father . Compare the phrases Father of glory , Eph 1:17; spirits , Heb 12:9; lights , Jam 1:17. Οἰκτιρμός mercy , from οἶκτος pity or mercy , the feeling which expresses itself in the exclamation οἴ oh! on seeing another's misery. The distinction between this and ἔλεος , according to which οἰκτιρμός signifies the feeling , and ἔλεος the manifestation , cannot be strictly held, since the manifestation is often expressed by οἰκτιρμός . See Sept., Psalm 24:6; 102:4; 118:77.

Vincent: 2Co 1:3

All comfort ( πάσης παρακλήσεως )

The earliest passage in the New Testament where this word comfort or its kindred verb is applied to God. Compare παράκλητος comforter , advocate , of the Holy Spirit, in Joh 14:16, Joh 14:26, etc. All is better rendered every : the God of every consolation .

Vincent: 2Co 1:4

In all our tribulation - in any trouble ( ἐπὶ πάση τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν - ἐν πάσῃ θλίψει )

Note the nice use of the article: all our tribulation , collectively; any or every trouble , specifically. In is literally upon ; the trouble forming the ground of the comfort. So in hope , Rom 4:18; Rom 5:2.

Vincent: 2Co 1:4

We ourselves are comforted

An illustration of the personal character which pervades this epistle. Paul had been oppressed with anxiety concerning the reception of his first epistle by the Corinthian Church, by the delay of tidings, and by his disappointment in meeting Titus. The tidings, when at last they did arrive, aroused his gratitude for the wholesome effect of his rebuke upon the Church, and his indignation at the aggressions of the Judaizing teachers. With these feelings mingled his anxiety to hasten, in the Corinthian Church, the contribution for the poor saints in Judaea. This second letter therefore bears the marks of the high tension of feeling which finds expression in frequent personal allusions, especially to his afflictions.

Vincent: 2Co 1:5

Sufferings of Christ

Not things suffered for Christ's sake , but Christ's own sufferings as they are shared by His disciples. See Mat 20:22; Phi 3:10; Col 1:24; 1Pe 4:13. Note the peculiar phrase abound (περισσεύει ) in us , by which Christ's sufferings are represented as overflowing upon His followers. See on Col 1:24.

Vincent: 2Co 1:6

And whether we be, etc.

The MSS. differ in their arrangement of this verse. The main points of difference may be seen by comparing the A.V. and Rev. The sense is not affected by the variation.

Vincent: 2Co 1:6

Is effectual ( ἐνεργουμένης )

See on Mar 6:14; see on Jam 5:16.

Vincent: 2Co 1:8

We would not have you ignorant

See on Rom 1:13.

Vincent: 2Co 1:8

Came to us in Asia

Rev., better, befell . The nature of the trouble is uncertain. The following words seem to indicate inward distress rather than trouble from without, such as he experienced at Ephesus.

Vincent: 2Co 1:8

Were pressed out of measure ( καθ ' ὑπερβολὴν ἐβαρήθημεν )

Rev., better, were weighed down , thus giving the etymological force of the verb, from βάρος burden . For out of measure , Rev, exceedingly ; see on 1Co 2:1.

Vincent: 2Co 1:8

We despaired ( ἐξαπορηθῆναι )

Only here and 2Co 4:8. From ἐξ out and out , and ἀπορέω to be without a way of escape . See on did many things , Mar 6:20.

Vincent: 2Co 1:9

Sentence of death ( ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου )

Ἁπόκριμα , occurs only here in the New Testament, and not in classical Greek nor in the Septuagint. In the latter the kindred words have, almost uniformly, the meaning of answer . Josephus used it of a response of the Roman senate. Sentence , which occurs in some inscriptions, if a legitimate rendering at all, is a roundabout one, derived from a classical use of the verb ἀποκρίνω to reject on inquiry , decide . Rev., therefore, correctly, answer of death . The sense is well given by Stanley: " When I have asked myself what would be the issue of this struggle, the answer has been, 'death." '

Vincent: 2Co 1:9

Doth deliver ( ῥύεται )

The correct reading is ῥύσεται will deliver , Rev.

Vincent: 2Co 1:11

Persons ( προσώπων )

Face is the usual rendering of the word in the New Testament. Even when rendered person the usage is Hebraistic for face . See on Jam 2:1 There is no reason for abandoning that sense here. The expression is pictorial; that thanksgiving may be given from many faces ; the cheerful countenances being an offering of thanks to God.

Vincent: 2Co 1:12

Godly sincerity ( εἰλικρινείᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ )

Lit., sincerity of God , as Rev. See on 2Pe 3:1.

Vincent: 2Co 1:12

We have had our conversation ( ἀνεστράφημεν )

Rev., behaved ourselves . See on 1Pe 1:15.

Vincent: 2Co 1:13

Read - acknowledge ( ἀναγινώσκετε - ἐπιγινώσκετε )

The word-play cannot be reproduced in English.

Vincent: 2Co 1:14

In part ( ἀπὸ μέρους )

Referring to the partial understanding of his character and motives by the Corinthians.

Vincent: 2Co 1:15

Before ( πρότερον )

Rather, first of all . Instead of going first to the Macedonians, as he afterward decided. See 1Co 16:5.

Vincent: 2Co 1:15

Second benefit ( δευτέραν χάριν )

Benefit is, literally, grace . Not a mere pleasurable experience through Paul's visit, but a divine bestowal of grace. Compare Rom 1:11. Second refers to his original plan to visit Corinth twice, on his way to Macedonia and on his return.

Vincent: 2Co 1:17

Did I use lightness ( τῇ ἐλαφρίᾳ ἐχρησαμην )

Rev., shew fickleness . Ἑλαφρία , lightness , only here in the New Testament. Compare ἐλαφρός light , Mat 11:30; 2Co 4:17. His change of plan had given rise to the charge of fickleness.

Vincent: 2Co 1:17

The yea, yea, and the nay, nay

That I should say " yes" at one time and " no" at another; promising to come and breaking my promise.

Vincent: 2Co 1:18

As God is true ( πιστὸς ὁ Θεὸς )

Not to be taken as a formula of swearing. He means that God will answer for him against the charge of fickleness by the power and blessing (benefit) which will attend his presence. Hence the meaning is: faithful is God (in this) that our speech , etc.

Vincent: 2Co 1:19

Was not ( οὐκ ἐγένετο )

Rather, did not prove to be , in the result.

Vincent: 2Co 1:19

In Him was yea ( ναὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γέγονεν )

Lit., yea has come to pass in Him . He has shown Himself absolutely the truth. Compare Joh 14:6; Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14.

Vincent: 2Co 1:20

All ( ὅσαι )

Wrong. As many as .

Vincent: 2Co 1:20

Are yea, etc.

Making this the predicate of promises , which is wrong. The meaning is that how many soever are God's promises, in Christ is the incarnate answer, " yea!" to the question, " Will they be fulfilled?" Hence Rev., correctly: How many soever be the promises of God , in Him is the yea .

Vincent: 2Co 1:20

And in Him Amen ( καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ ἀμὴν )

The correct reading is: διὸ καὶ δἰ αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀμὴν Wherefore also through Him is the Amen . In giving this answer in His person and life, Christ puts the emphatic confirmation upon God's promises, even as in the congregation the people say Amen , verily . In Him is in His person : through Him, by His agency .

Vincent: 2Co 1:20

By us ( δἰ ἡμῶν )

Through our ministration. Christ, in and through whom are the yea and the amen, is so proclaimed by us as to beget assurance of God's promises, and so to glorify Him.

Vincent: 2Co 1:21

Stablisheth - in Christ ( βεβαιῶν - εἰς )

The present participle with εἰς into indicates the work as it is in progress toward a final identification of the believers with Christ.

Vincent: 2Co 1:22

Sealed ( σφραγισάμενος )

See on Joh 3:33; see on Rev 22:10.

Vincent: 2Co 1:22

Earnest ( ἀῥῤαβῶνα )

Only here, 2Co 5:5, and Eph 1:14. It means caution-money, deposited by a purchaser in pledge of full payment.

Vincent: 2Co 1:22

Of the Spirit

Not the foretaste or pledge of the Spirit , but the Spirit Himself in pledge of the fulfillment of the promises. By a common Greek usage the words are in apposition: the earnest which is the Spirit .

Vincent: 2Co 1:23

I call God for a record ( τὸν Θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι )

Rev., better, witness . A common classical idiom. Compare Plato: " Next will follow the choir of young men under the age of thirty, who will call upon the god Paean to testify to the truth of these words" (" Laws," 664). Homer: " For the gods will be the best witnesses" (" Iliad," xxii., 254). Compare Rom 1:9; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8; 1Th 2:5, 1Th 2:10; Gen 31:50, Sept. This particular form of expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The verb is often translated appeal , as Act 25:11, Act 25:12. Also to call upon , in the sense of supplication , Rom 10:12, Rom 10:13, Rom 10:14; 1Co 1:2.

Wesley: 2Co 1:1

St. Paul writing to Timotheus styled him his son; writing of him, his brother.

Wesley: 2Co 1:3

A solemn and beautiful introduction, highly suitable to the apostolical spirit. The Father of mercies, and God of all comfort - Mercies are the fountain of comfort; comfort is the outward expression of mercy. God shows mercy in the affliction itself. He gives comfort both in and after the affliction. Therefore is he termed, the God of all comfort. Blessed be this God!

Wesley: 2Co 1:4

He that has experienced one kind of affliction is able to comfort others in that affliction. He that has experienced all kinds of affliction is able to comfort them in all.

Wesley: 2Co 1:5

The sufferings endured on his account.

Wesley: 2Co 1:5

The sufferings were many, the comfort one; and yet not only equal to, but overbalancing, them all.

Wesley: 2Co 1:6

For your present comfort, your present and future salvation. Or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort - That we may be the better able to comfort you.

Wesley: 2Co 1:6

Through the efficacy of which you patiently endure the same kind of sufferings with us.

Wesley: 2Co 1:7

Grounded on your patience in suffering for Christ's sake, is steadfast.

Wesley: 2Co 1:8

Probably the same which is described in Acts 19. The Corinthians knew before that he had been in trouble: he now declares the greatness and the fruit of it. We were exceedingly pressed, above our strength - Above the ordinary strength even of an apostle.

Wesley: 2Co 1:9

We ourselves expected nothing but death.

Wesley: 2Co 1:10

That we may at length be able to come to you.

Wesley: 2Co 1:11

As well as other churches. Helping with us by prayer, that for the gift - Namely, my deliverance.

Wesley: 2Co 1:11

Praying for it, thanks may be given by many.

Wesley: 2Co 1:12

Even in the deepest adversity.

Wesley: 2Co 1:12

Whatever others think of us.

Wesley: 2Co 1:12

Having one end in view, aiming singly at the glory of God.

Wesley: 2Co 1:12

Without any tincture of guile, dissimulation, or disguise. Not with carnal wisdom, but by the grace of God - Not by natural, but divine, wisdom.

Wesley: 2Co 1:12

In the whole world; in every circumstance.

Wesley: 2Co 1:14

Though not so fully as ye will do.

Wesley: 2Co 1:14

That ye rejoice in having known us.

Wesley: 2Co 1:14

As we also rejoice in the success of our labours among you; and we trust shall rejoice therein in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Wesley: 2Co 1:15

That is, being confident of this.

Wesley: 2Co 1:17

Did I lightly change my purpose? Do I purpose according to the flesh - Are my purposes grounded on carnal or worldly considerations? So that there should be with me yea and nay - Sometimes one, sometimes the other; that is, variableness and inconstancy.

Wesley: 2Co 1:18

The whole tenor of our doctrine.

Wesley: 2Co 1:18

Wavering and uncertain.

Wesley: 2Co 1:19

That is, our preaching concerning him.

Wesley: 2Co 1:19

Was not variable and inconsistent with itself.

Wesley: 2Co 1:19

Always one and the same, centering in him.

Wesley: 2Co 1:20

Are surely established in and through him. They are yea with respect to God promising; amen, with respect to men believing; yea, with respect to the apostles; amen, with respect to their hearers.

Wesley: 2Co 1:21

For it is God alone that is able to fulfil these promises.

Wesley: 2Co 1:21

Apostles and teachers.

Wesley: 2Co 1:21

All true believers.

Wesley: 2Co 1:21

With the oil of gladness, with joy in the Holy Ghost, thereby giving us strength both to do and suffer his will.

Wesley: 2Co 1:22

Stamping his image on our hearts, thus marking and sealing us as his own property.

Wesley: 2Co 1:22

There is a difference between an earnest and a pledge. A pledge is to be restored when the debt is paid; but an earnest is not taken away, but completed. Such an earnest is the Spirit. The first fruits of it we have Rom 8:23; and we wait for all the fulness.

Wesley: 2Co 1:23

Was not St.

Wesley: 2Co 1:23

Lest I should be obliged to use severity. He says elegantly to Corinth, not to you, when be is intimating his power to punish.

Wesley: 2Co 1:24

This is the prerogative of God alone.

Wesley: 2Co 1:24

And faith from which it springs.

Wesley: 2Co 1:24

To this day. We see the light in which ministers should always consider themselves, and in which they are to be considered by others. Not as having dominion over the faith of their people, and having a right to dictate by their own authority what they shall believe, or what they shall do; but as helpers of their joy, by helping them forward in faith and holiness. In this view, how amiable does their office appear! and how friendly to the happiness of mankind! How far, then, are they from true benevolence, who would expose it to ridicule and contempt!

JFB: 2Co 1:1

When writing to Timothy himself, he calls him "my son" (1Ti 1:18). Writing of him, "brother," and "my beloved son" (1Co 4:17). He had been sent before to Macedonia, and had met Paul at Philippi, when the apostle passed over from Troas to Macedonia (compare 2Co 2:12-13; see on 1Co 16:10-11).

JFB: 2Co 1:1

Comprising Hellas and the Peloponnese. The Gentiles themselves, and Annæus Gallio, the proconsul (Act 18:12-16), strongly testified their disapproval of the accusation brought by the Jews against Paul. Hence, the apostle was enabled to labor in the whole province of Achaia with such success as to establish several churches there (1Th 1:8; 2Th 1:4), where, writing from Corinth, he speaks of the "churches," namely, not only the Corinthian, but others also--Athens, Cenchrea, and, perhaps, Sicyon, Argos, &c. He addresses "the Church in Corinth," directly, and all "the saints" in the province, indirectly. In Gal 1:2 all the "churches" are addressed directly in the same circular Epistle. Hence, here he does not say, all the churches, but "all the saints."

JFB: 2Co 1:3

This thanksgiving for his late deliverance forms a suitable introduction for conciliating their favorable reception of his reasons for not having fulfilled his promise of visiting them (2Co 1:15-24).

JFB: 2Co 1:3

That is, the SOURCE of all mercies (compare Jam 1:17; Rom 12:1).

JFB: 2Co 1:3

Which flows from His "mercies" experienced. Like a true man of faith, he mentions "mercies" and "comfort," before he proceeds to speak of afflictions (2Co 1:4-6). The "tribulation" of believers is not inconsistent with God's mercy, and does not beget in them suspicion of it; nay, in the end they feel that He is "the God of ALL comfort," that is, who imparts the only true and perfect comfort in every instance (Psa 146:3, Psa 146:5, Psa 146:8; Jam 5:11).

JFB: 2Co 1:4

Idiomatic for me (1Th 2:18).

JFB: 2Co 1:4

Translate, as the Greek is the same as before, "tribulation." The apostle lived, not to himself, but to the Church; so, whatever graces God conferred on him, he considered granted not for himself alone, but that he might have the greater ability to help others [CALVIN]. So participation in all the afflictions of man peculiarly qualified Jesus to be man's comforter in all his various afflictions (Isa 50:4-6; Heb 4:15).

JFB: 2Co 1:5

Standing in contrast with "salvation" (2Co 1:6); as "tribulation" (distress of mind), with comfort or "consolation."

JFB: 2Co 1:5

Compare Col 1:24. The sufferings endured, whether by Himself, or by His Church, with which He considers Himself identified (Mat 25:40, Mat 25:45; Act 9:4; 1Jo 4:17-21). Christ calls His people's sufferings His own suffering: (1) because of the sympathy and mystical union between Him and us (Rom 8:17; 1Co 4:10); (2) They are borne for His sake; (3) They tend to His glory (Eph 4:1; 1Pe 4:14, 1Pe 4:16).

JFB: 2Co 1:5

Greek, "abound unto us." The order of the Greek following words is more forcible than in English Version, "Even so through Christ aboundeth also our comfort." The sufferings (plural) are many; but the consolation (though singular) swallows up them all. Comfort preponderates in this Epistle above that in the first Epistle, as now by the effect of the latter most of the Corinthians had been much impressed.

JFB: 2Co 1:6

Exemplifying the communion of saints. Their hearts were, so to speak, mirrors reflecting the likenesses of each other (Phi 2:26-27) [BENGEL]. Alike the afflictions and the consolations of the apostle tend, as in him so in them, as having communion with him, to their consolation (2Co 1:4; 2Co 4:15). The Greek for "afflicted" is the same as before, and ought to be translated, "Whether we be in tribulation."

JFB: 2Co 1:6

Literally, "worketh effectually."

JFB: 2Co 1:6

That is, in enabling you to endure "the same sufferings which we also suffer." Here follows, in the oldest manuscripts (not as English Version in the beginning of 2Co 1:7), the clause, "And our hope is steadfast on your behalf."

JFB: 2Co 1:7

Rather, "So are ye." He means, there is a community of consolation, as of suffering, between me and you.

JFB: 2Co 1:8-9

Referring to the imminent risk of life which he ran in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41) when the whole multitude were wrought up to fury by Demetrius, on the plea of Paul and his associates having assailed the religion of Diana of Ephesus. The words (2Co 1:9), "we had the sentence of death in ourselves," mean, that he looked upon himself as a man condemned to die [PALEY]. ALFORD thinks the danger at Ephesus was comparatively so slight that it cannot be supposed to be the subject of reference here, without exposing the apostle to a charge of cowardice, very unlike his fearless character; hence, he supposes Paul refers to some deadly sickness which he had suffered under (2Co 1:9-10). But there is little doubt that, had Paul been found by the mob in the excitement, he would have been torn in pieces; and probably, besides what Luke in Acts records, there were other dangers of an equally distressing kind, such as, "lyings in wait of the Jews" (Act 20:19), his ceaseless foes. They, doubtless, had incited the multitude at Ephesus (Act 19:9), and were the chief of the "many adversaries" and "[wild] beasts," which he had to fight with there (1Co 15:32; 1Co 16:9). His weak state of health at the time combined with all this to make him regard himself as all but dead (2Co 11:29; 2Co 12:10). What makes my supposition probable is, that the very cause of his not having visited Corinth directly as he had intended, and for which he proceeds to apologize (2Co 1:15-23), was, that there might be time to see whether the evils arising there not only from Greek, but from Jewish disturbers of the Church (2Co 11:29), would be checked by his first Epistle; there not being fully so was what entailed on him the need of writing this second Epistle. His not specifying this here expressly is just what we might expect in the outset of this letter; towards the close, when he had won their favorable hearing by a kindly and firm tone, he gives a more distinct reference to Jewish agitators (2Co 11:22).

JFB: 2Co 1:8-9

That is, ordinary, natural powers of endurance.

JFB: 2Co 1:8-9

As far as human help or hope from man was concerned. But in respect to help from God we were "not in despair" (2Co 4:8).

JFB: 2Co 1:9

"Yea."

JFB: 2Co 1:9

We had so given up all thoughts of life, that our only hope was fixed on the coming resurrection; so in 1Co 15:32 his hope of the resurrection was what buoyed him up in contending with foes, savage as wild beasts. Here he touches only on the doctrine of the resurrection, taking it for granted that its truth is admitted by the Corinthians, and urging its bearing on their practice.

JFB: 2Co 1:10

The oldest manuscripts read, "will deliver," namely, as regards immediately imminent dangers. "In whom we trust that He will also (so the Greek) yet deliver us," refers to the continuance of God's delivering help hereafter.

JFB: 2Co 1:11

Rather, "helping together on our behalf by your supplication"; the words "for us" in the Greek following "helping together," not "prayer."

JFB: 2Co 1:11

Literally, "That on the part of many persons the gift (literally, 'gift of grace'; the mercy) bestowed upon us by means of (that is, through the prayers of) many may be offered thanks for (may have thanks offered for it) on our behalf."

JFB: 2Co 1:12

Reason why he may confidently look for their prayers for him.

JFB: 2Co 1:12

Greek, "our glorying." Not that he glories in the testimony of his conscience, as something to boast of; nay, this testimony is itself the thing in which his glorying consists.

JFB: 2Co 1:12

Most of the oldest manuscripts read, "in holiness." English Version reading is perhaps a gloss from Eph 6:5 [ALFORD]. Some of the oldest manuscripts and versions, however, support it.

JFB: 2Co 1:12

Literally, "sincerity of God"; that is, sincerity as in the presence of God (1Co 5:8). We glory in this in spite of all our adversities. Sincerity in Greek implies the non-admixture of any foreign element. He had no sinister or selfish aims (as some insinuated) in failing to visit them as he had promised: such aims belonged to his adversaries, not to him (2Co 2:17). "Fleshly wisdom" suggests tortuous and insincere courses; but the "grace of God," which influenced him by God's gifts (Rom 12:3; Rom 15:15), suggests holy straightforwardness and sincere faithfulness to promises (2Co 1:17-20), even as God is faithful to His promises. The prudence which subserves selfish interests, or employs unchristian means, or relies on human means more than on the Divine Spirit, is "fleshly wisdom."

JFB: 2Co 1:12

Even in relation to the world at large, which is full of disingenuousness.

JFB: 2Co 1:12

(2Co 2:4). His greater love to them would lead him to manifest, especially to them, proofs of his sincerity, which his less close connection with the world did not admit of his exhibiting towards it.

JFB: 2Co 1:13

We write none other things (in this Epistle) than what ye read (in my former Epistle [BENGEL]; present, because the Epistle continued still to be read in the Church as an apostolic rule). CONYBEARE and HOWSON think Paul had been suspected of writing privately to some individuals in the Church in a different strain from that of his public letters; and translates, "I write nothing else to you but what ye read openly (the Greek meaning, 'ye read aloud,' namely, when Paul's Epistles were publicly read in the congregation, 1Th 5:27); yea, and what you acknowledge inwardly."

JFB: 2Co 1:13

Greek, "or even acknowledge." The Greek for "read" and for "acknowledge" are words kindred in sound and root. I would translate, "None other things than what ye know by reading (by comparing my former Epistle with my present Epistle), or even know as a matter of fact (namely, the consistency of my acts with my words)."

JFB: 2Co 1:13

Of my life. Not excluding reference to the day of the Lord (end of 2Co 1:14; 1Co 4:5).

JFB: 2Co 1:14

In contrast to "even to the end": the testimony of his life was not yet completed [THEOPHYLACT and BENGEL]. Rather, "in part," that is, some of you, not all [GROTIUS, ALFORD]. So in 2Co 2:5; Rom 11:25. The majority at Corinth had shown a willing compliance with Paul's directions in the first Epistle: but some were still refractory. Hence arises the difference of tone in different parts of this Epistle. See Introduction.

JFB: 2Co 1:14

Your subject of glorying or boast. "Are" (not merely shall be) implies the present recognition of one another as a subject of mutual glorying: that glorying being about to be realized in its fulness "in the day (of the coming) of the Lord Jesus."

JFB: 2Co 1:15

Of my character for sincerity being "acknowledged" by you (2Co 1:12-14).

JFB: 2Co 1:15

I was intending.

JFB: 2Co 1:15

"to come unto you before" visiting Macedonia (where he now was). Compare Note, see on 1Co 16:5; also see on 1Co 4:18, which, combined with the words here, implies that the insinuation of some at Corinth, that he would not come at all, rested on the fact of his having thus disappointed them. His change of intention, and ultimate resolution of going through Macedonia first, took place before his sending Timothy from Ephesus into Macedonia, and therefore (1Co 4:17) before his writing the first Epistle. Compare Act 19:21-22 (the order there is "Macedonia and Achaia," not Achaia, Macedonia); Act 20:1-2.

JFB: 2Co 1:15

One in going to, the other in returning from, Macedonia. The "benefit" of his visits consisted in the grace and spiritual gifts which he was the means of imparting (Rom 1:11-12).

JFB: 2Co 1:16

Perhaps in the lost Epistle (1Co 4:18; 1Co 5:9). The sense comes out more clearly in the Greek order, "By you to pass into Macedonia, and from Macedonia to come again unto you."

JFB: 2Co 1:17

Was I guilty of levity? namely, by promising more than I performed.

JFB: 2Co 1:17

The "or" expresses a different alternative: Did I act with levity, or (on the other hand) do I purpose what I purpose like worldly (fleshly) men, so that my "yea" must at all costs be yea, and my "nay" nay [BENGEL, WINER, CALVIN], (Mat 14:7, Mat 14:9)? The repetition of the "yea" and "nay" hardly agrees with ALFORD'S view, "What I purpose do I purpose according to the changeable purposes of the fleshly (worldly) man, that there may be with me the yea yea, and the nay nay (that is, both affirmation and negation concerning the same thing)?" The repetition will thus stand for the single yea and nay, as in Mat 5:37; Jam 5:12. But the latter passage implies that the double "yea" here is not equivalent to the single "yea": BENGEL'S view, therefore, seems preferable.

JFB: 2Co 1:18

He adds this lest they might think his DOCTRINE was changeable like his purposes (the change in which he admitted in 2Co 1:17, while denying that it was due to "lightness," and at the same time implying that not to have changed, where there was good reason, would have been to imitate the fleshly-minded who at all costs obstinately hold to their purpose).

JFB: 2Co 1:18

Greek, "faithful" (1Co 1:9).

JFB: 2Co 1:18

The doctrine we preach.

JFB: 2Co 1:18

The oldest manuscripts read "is not."

JFB: 2Co 1:18

That is, inconsistent with itself.

JFB: 2Co 1:19

Proof of the unchangeableness of the doctrine from the unchangeableness of the subject of it, namely, Jesus Christ. He is called "the Son of God" to show the impossibility of change in One who is co-equal with God himself (compare 1Sa 15:29; Mal 3:6).

JFB: 2Co 1:19

The Son of God, though preached by different preachers, was one and the same, unchangeable. Silvanus is contracted into Silas (Act 15:22; compare 1Pe 5:12).

JFB: 2Co 1:19

Greek, "is made yea in Him"; that is, our preaching of the Son of God is confirmed as true in Him (that is, through Him; through the miracles wherewith He has confirmed our preaching) [GROTIUS]; or rather, by the witness of the Spirit which He has given (2Co 1:21-22) and of which miracles were only one, and that a subordinate manifestation.

JFB: 2Co 1:20

Rather, How many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the "yea" ("faithfulness in His word": contrasted with the "yea and nay," 2Co 1:19, that is, inconstancy as to one's word).

JFB: 2Co 1:20

The oldest manuscripts read, "Wherefore through Him is the Amen"; that is, In Him is faithfulness ("yea") to His word, "wherefore through Him" is the immutable verification of it ("Amen"). As "yea" is His word, so "Amen" is His oath, which makes our assurance of the fulfilment doubly sure. Compare "two immutable things (namely, His word and His oath) in which it was impossible for God to lie" (Heb 6:18; Rev 3:14). The whole range of Old Testament and New Testament promises are secure in their fulfilment for us in Christ.

JFB: 2Co 1:20

Greek, "for glory unto God by us" (compare 2Co 4:15), that is, by our ministerial labors; by us His promises, and His unchangeable faithfulness to them, are proclaimed. CONYBEARE takes the "Amen" to be the Amen at the close of thanksgiving: but then "by us" would have to mean what it cannot mean here, "by us and you."

JFB: 2Co 1:21

That is, in the faith of Christ--in believing in Christ.

JFB: 2Co 1:21

As "Christ" is the "Anointed" (which His name means), so "He hath anointed (Greek, "chrisas") us," ministers and believing people alike, with the Spirit (2Co 1:22; 1Jo 2:20, 1Jo 2:27). Hence we become "a sweet savor of Christ" (2Co 2:15).

JFB: 2Co 1:22

A seal is a token assuring the possession of property to one; "sealed" here answers to "stablisheth us" (2Co 1:21; 1Co 9:2).

JFB: 2Co 1:22

That is, the Spirit as the earnest (that is, money given by a purchaser as a pledge for the full payment of the sum promised). The Holy Spirit is given to the believer now as a first instalment to assure him his full inheritance as a son of God shall be his hereafter (Eph 1:13-14). "Sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession" (Rom 8:23). The Spirit is the pledge of the fulfilment of "all the promises" (2Co 1:20).

JFB: 2Co 1:23

Greek, "But I (for my part)," in contrast to GOD who hath assured us of His promises being hereafter fulfilled certainly (2Co 1:20-22).

JFB: 2Co 1:23

The all-knowing One, who avenges wilful unfaithfulness to promises.

JFB: 2Co 1:23

As a witness as to the secret purposes of my soul, and a witness against it, if I lie (Mal 3:5).

JFB: 2Co 1:23

In order not to come in a rebuking spirit, as I should have had to come to you, if I had come then.

JFB: 2Co 1:23

Greek, "no longer"; that is, I gave up my purpose of then visiting Corinth. He wished to give them time for repentance, that he might not have to use severity towards them. Hence he sent Titus before him. Compare 2Co 10:10-11, which shows that his detractors represented him as threatening what he had not courage to perform (1Co 4:18-19).

JFB: 2Co 1:24

That is, Not that. "Faith" is here emphatic. He had "dominion" or a right to control them in matters of discipline, but in matters of "faith" he was only a "fellow helper of their joy" (namely, in believing, Rom 15:13; Phi 1:25). The Greek is, "Not that we lord it over your faith." This he adds to soften the magisterial tone of 2Co 1:23. His desire is to cause them not sorrow (2Co 2:1-2), but "joy." The Greek for "helpers" implies a mutual leaning, one on the other, like the mutually supporting buttresses of a sacred building. "By faith (Rom 11:20) ye stand"; therefore it is that I bestow such pains in "helping" your faith, which is the source of all true "joy" (Rom 15:13). I want nothing more, not to lord it over your faith.

Clarke: 2Co 1:1

Paul, an apostle - Paul, commissioned immediately by Jesus Christ himself, according to the will of God, to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. See on 1Co 1:1 (note)

Clarke: 2Co 1:1

In all Achaia - The whole of the Peloponnesus, or that country separated from the main land by the Isthmus of Corinth. From this we may learn that this epistle was not only sent to the Church at Corinth, but to all the Churches in that country.

Clarke: 2Co 1:2

Grace be to you and peace - See Rom 1:7.

Clarke: 2Co 1:3

Blessed be God - Let God have universal and eternal praise

1.    Because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the gift of his endless love to man, Joh 1:16

2.    Because he is the Father of mercies, ὁ Πατηρ των οικτιρμων, the source whence all mercy flows, whether it respect the body or the soul, time or eternity; the source of tender mercy; for so the word implies. See on Rom 12:1 (note). And

3.    Because he is the God of all comfort - the Fountain whence all consolation, happiness, and bliss flow to angels and to men.

Clarke: 2Co 1:4

Who comforteth us - Who shows himself to be the God of tender mercy, by condescending to notice us, who have never deserved any good at his hand; and also the God of all consolation, by comforting us in all our tribulation - never leaving us a prey to anxiety, carking care, persecution, or temptation; but, by the comforts of his Spirit, bearing us up in, through, and above, all our trials and difficulties

Clarke: 2Co 1:4

That we may be able to comfort them - Even spiritual comforts are not given us for our use alone; they, like all the gifts of God, are given that they may be distributed, or become the instruments of help to others. A minister’ s trials and comforts are permitted and sent for the benefit of the Church. What a miserable preacher must he be who has all his divinity by study and learning, and nothing by experience! If his soul have not gone through all the travail of regeneration, if his heart have not felt the love of God shed abroad in it by the Holy Ghost, he can neither instruct the ignorant nor comfort the distressed. See 2Co 1:6.

Clarke: 2Co 1:5

The sufferings of Christ - Suffering endured for the cause of Christ: such as persecutions, hardships, and privations of different kinds

Clarke: 2Co 1:5

Our consolation also aboundeth - We stood as well, as firmly, and as easily, in the heaviest trial, as in the lightest; because the consolation was always proportioned to the trial and difficulty. Hence we learn, that he who is upheld in a slight trial need not fear a great one; for if he be faithful, his consolation shall abound, as his sufferings abound. Is it not as easy for a man to lift one hundred pounds’ weight, as it is for an infant to lift a few ounces? The proportion of strength destroys the comparative difficulty.

Clarke: 2Co 1:6

And whether we be afflicted - See on 2Co 1:4 (note)

Clarke: 2Co 1:6

Which is effectual - There is a strange and unusual variation in the MSS. and versions in this passage. Perhaps the whole should be read thus: For if we be afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; and if we be comforted, it is also for your encouragement, which exerted itself by enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer

This transposition of the middle and last clauses is authorized by the best MSS. and versions. The meaning seems to be this: While ye abide faithful to God, no suffering can be prejudicial to you; on the contrary, it will be advantageous; God having your comfort and salvation continually in view, by all the dispensations of his providence: and while you patiently endure, your salvation is advanced; sufferings and consolations all becoming energetic means of accomplishing the great design, for all things work together for good to them that love God. See the variations in Griesbach.

Clarke: 2Co 1:7

And our hope of you is steadfast - We have no doubt of your continuing in the truth; because we see that you have such a full, experimental knowledge of it, that no sufferings or persecutions can turn you aside. And we are sure that, as ye suffer, so shall ye rejoice.

Clarke: 2Co 1:8

Our trouble which came to us in Asia - To what part of his history the apostle refers we know not: some think it is to the Jews lying in wait to kill him, Act 20:3; others, to the insurrection raised against him by Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen, Act 19:23; others, to his fighting with beasts at Ephesus, 1Co 15:32, which they understand literally; and others think that there is a reference here to some persecution which is not recorded in any part of the apostle’ s history

Clarke: 2Co 1:8

We were pressed out of measure, above strength - The original is exceedingly emphatic: καθ ’ ὑπερβολην εβαρηθημεν ὑπερ δυναμιν· we were weighed down beyond what is credible, even beyond what any natural strength could support. There is no part of St. Paul’ s history known to us which can justify these strong expressions, except his being stoned at Lystra; which if not what is here intended, the facts to which he refers are not on record. As Lystra was properly in Asia, unless he mean Asia Minor, and his stoning at Lystra did most evidently destroy his life, so that his being raised was an effect of the miraculous power of God; he might be supposed to refer to this. See the notes on Act 14:19, etc. But it is very likely that the reference is to some terrible persecution which he had endured some short time before his writing this epistle; and with the outlines of which the Corinthians had been acquainted.

Clarke: 2Co 1:9

We had the sentence of death in ourselves - The tribulation was so violent and overwhelming, that he had no hope of escaping death

Clarke: 2Co 1:9

That we should not trust in ourselves - The tribulation was of such a nature as to take away all expectation of help but from God alone

Clarke: 2Co 1:9

But in God which raiseth the dead - This is very like the business at Lystra; and would be sufficient to fix the apostle’ s reference to that fact could the time and other circumstances serve.

Clarke: 2Co 1:10

Who delivered us from so great a death - For the circumstances were such that no human power could avail

Clarke: 2Co 1:10

Will yet deliver us - Having had such a signal evidence of His interposition already, we will confide in him with an unshaken confidence that he will continue to support and deliver.

Clarke: 2Co 1:11

Ye also helping together by prayer - Even an apostle felt the prayers of the Church of God necessary for his comfort and support

What innumerable blessings do the prayers of the followers of God draw down on those who are the objects of them

Clarke: 2Co 1:11

The gift bestowed - by the means of many persons - The blessings communicated by means of their prayers

Clarke: 2Co 1:11

Thanks may be given by many - When they who have prayed hear that their prayers are so particularly answered, then all that have prayed will feel themselves led to praise God for his gracious answers. Thus, the prayers of many obtain the gift; and the thanksgiving of many acknowledge the mercy

The gift, or χαρισμα, which the apostle mentions, was his deliverance from the dangers and deaths to which he was exposed.

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

For our rejoicing is this - Ἡ καυχησις . Our boasting, exultation, subject of glorying

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

The testimony of our conscience - Μαρτυριον της συνειδησεως· That testimony or witness which conscience, under the light and influence of the Spirit of God, renders to the soul of its state, sincerity, safety, etc

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

In simplicity - Ἁπλοτητι· from α, denoting unity or together, and πελω, to be; or from α, negative, and πολυς, many; not compounded, having one end in view, having no sinister purpose, no by end to answer. Instead of ἁπλοτητι, many MSS. and versions have ἁγιοτητι, holiness

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

In godly sincerity - Ειλικρινειᾳ Θεου· The sincerity of God: that is, such a sincerity as comes from his work in the soul. Ειλικρινεια, sincerity, and ειλικρινης, sincere, come from ειλη, the splendor, or bright shining of the sun; and here signifies such simplicity of intention, and purity of affection, as can stand the test of the light of God shining upon it, without the discovery being made of a single blemish or flaw

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

Not with fleshly wisdom - The cunning and duplicity of man, who is uninfluenced by the Spirit of God, and has his secular interest, ease, profit, pleasure, and worldly honor in view

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

But by the grace of God - Which alone can produce the simplicity and godly sincerity before mentioned, and inspire the wisdom that comes from above

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

We have had our conversation - Ανεστραφημεν· We have conducted ourselves. The word properly refers to the whole tenor of a man’ s life - all that he does says, and intends; and the object or end he has in view, and in reference to which he speaks, acts, and thinks; and is so used by the best Greek writers. The verb αναστρεφω is compounded of ανα, again, and στρεφω, to turn; a continual coming back again to the point from which he set out; a circulation; beginning, continuing, and ending every thing to the glory of God; setting out with Divine views, and still maintaining them; beginning in the Spirit, and ending in the Spirit; acting in reference to God, as the planets do in reference to the sun, deriving all their light, heat, and motion from him; and incessantly and regularly revolving round him. Thus acted Paul; thus acted the primitive Christians; and thus must every Christian act who expects to see God in his glory. The word conversation is not an unapt Latinism for the Greek term, as conversatio comes from con , together, and verto , I turn; and is used by the Latins in precisely the same sense as the other is by the Greeks, signifying the whole of a man’ s conduct, the tenor and practice of his life: and conversio astrorum , and conversiones caelestes , is by Cicero used for the course of the stars and heavenly bodies. - De Leg. c. 8: Caelum una conversione atque eadem, ipse circum se torquetur et vertitur . - CIC de Univers., c. 8: "The heaven itself is, with one and the same revolution, whirled about, and revolves round itself.

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

In the world - Both among Jews and Gentiles have we always acted as seeing Him who is invisible

Clarke: 2Co 1:12

More abundantly to you-ward - That is, We have given the fullest proof of this in our conduct towards you; You have witnessed the holy manner in which we have always acted; and God is witness of the purity of the motives by which we have been actuated; and our conscience tells us that we have lived in uprightness before him.

Clarke: 2Co 1:13

Than what ye read - Viz. In the first epistle which he had sent them

Clarke: 2Co 1:13

Or acknowledge - To be the truth of God; and which he hoped they would continue to acknowledge, and not permit themselves to be turned aside from the hope of the Gospel.

Clarke: 2Co 1:14

Have acknowledged us in part - Απο μερους may signify here not in part, but some of you; and it is evident, from the distracted state of the Corinthians, and the opposition raised there against the apostle, that it was only a part of them that did acknowledge him, and receive and profit by his epistles and advice

Clarke: 2Co 1:14

We are your rejoicing, etc. - You boast of us as the ministers of Christ through whom ye have believed; as we boast of you as genuine converts to the Christian faith, and worthy members of the Church of God.

Clarke: 2Co 1:15

And in this confidence - Under the conviction or persuasion that this is the case; that ye exult in us, as we do in you

Clarke: 2Co 1:15

I was minded - I had purposed to come to you before, as he had intimated, 1Co 16:5; for he had intended to call on them in his way from Macedonia, but this purpose he did not fulfill; and he gives the reason, 2Co 1:23

Clarke: 2Co 1:15

A second benefit - He had been with them once, and they had received an especial blessing in having the seed of life sown among them by the preaching of the Gospel; and he had purposed to visit them again that they might have a second blessing, in having that seed watered. Instead of χαριν, grace or benefit, several MSS. read χαραν joy, pleasure; but the word grace or benefit, seems to express the apostle’ s meaning best.

Clarke: 2Co 1:16

To pass by you into Macedonia - He had purposed to go to Macedonia first, and then from Macedonia return to them, and probably winter in Corinth. Therefore we must understand the δι ’ ὑμων, by you, as implying that he would sail up the Aegean Sea, leaving Corinth to the west; though he might have taken it in his way, and have gone by land through Greece up to Macedonia. Some think that the meaning is, that he purposed to take Achaia in his way to Macedonia, without calling at Corinth; but Achaia was out of his way considerably, and he could scarcely go through Achaia without passing close by Corinth. I consider the words, therefore, as implying that he purposed not to call at Corinth at that time, but to pass by it, as before stated.

Clarke: 2Co 1:17

Did I use lightness? - When I formed this purpose, was it without due consideration? and did I abandon it through fickleness of mind

Clarke: 2Co 1:17

That with me there should be yea, etc. - That I should act as carnal men, who change their purposes, and falsify their engagements, according as may seem best to their secular interest?

Clarke: 2Co 1:18

But as God is true - Setting the God of truth before my eyes, I could not act in this way: and as sure as he is true, so surely were my purposes sincere; and it was only my uncertainty about your state that induced me to postpone my visit. See 2Co 1:23.

Clarke: 2Co 1:19

For the Son of God, etc. - If I could have changed my purpose through carnal or secular interests then I must have had the same interest in view when I first preached the Gospel to you, with Silvanus and Timotheus. But did not the whole of our conduct prove that we neither had, nor could have such interest in view?

Clarke: 2Co 1:20

For all the promises of God - Had we been light, fickle, worldly-minded persons; persons who could only be bound by our engagements as far as comported with our secular interest; would God have confirmed our testimony among you? Did we not lay before you the promises of God? And did not God fulfill those promises by us - by our instrumentality, to your salvation and his own glory? God is true; therefore every promise of God is true; and consequently each must have its due fulfillment. God will not make use of trifling, worldly men, as the instruments by which he will fulfill his promises; but he has fulfilled them by us; therefore we are just and spiritual men, else God would not have used us

Clarke: 2Co 1:20

In him are yea, and in him amen - All the promises which God has made to mankind are yea - true in themselves, and amen - faithfully fulfilled to them who believe in Christ Jesus. The promises are all made in reference to Christ; for it is only on the Gospel system that we can have promises of grace; for it is only on that system that we can have mercy. Therefore, the promise comes originally by Christ, and is yea; and it has its fulfillment through Christ, and is amen; and this is to the glory of God, by the preaching of the apostles

From what the apostle says here, and the serious and solemn manner in which he vindicates himself, it appears that his enemies at Corinth had made a handle of his not coming to Corinth, according to his proposal, to defame his character, and to depreciate his ministry; but he makes use of it as a means of exalting the truth and mercy of God through Christ Jesus; and of showing that the promises of God not only come by him, but are fulfilled through him.

Clarke: 2Co 1:21

Now he which stablisheth us with you - It is God that has brought both us and you to this sure state of salvation through Christ; and he has anointed us, giving us the extraordinary influences of the Holy Ghost, that we might be able effectually to administer this Gospel to your salvation. Through this unction we know and preach the truth, and are preserved by it from dissimulation and falsity of every kind.

Clarke: 2Co 1:22

Who hath also sealed us - Not only deeply impressed His truth and image upon our hearts; but, by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, attested the truth of our extraordinary unction or calling to the ministry

Clarke: 2Co 1:22

And given the earnest of the Spirit - Τον αρραβωνα του Πνευματος . From this unction and sealing we have a clear testimony in our souls, the Divine Spirit dwelling constantly in us, of our acceptance with God, and that our ways please him. The αρῥαβων of the apostle is the same as the ערבן erabon of Moses, Gen 38:17, Gen 38:18, Gen 38:20, which we there translate pledge. The word properly signifies an earnest of something promised; a part of the price agreed for between a buyer and seller, by giving and receiving of which the bargain was ratified; or a deposit, which was to be restored when the thing promised was given. From the use of the term in Genesis, which the apostle puts here in Greek letters, we may at once see his meaning above, and in Eph 1:14; the Holy Spirit being an earnest in the heart, and an earnest of the promised inheritance means a security given in hand for the fulfillment of all God’ s promises relative to grace and eternal life. We may learn from this, that eternal life will be given in the great day to all who can produce the arrhabon , or pledge. He who is found then with the earnest of God’ s Spirit in his heart, shall not only be saved from death, but have that eternal life of which it is the pledge, the earnest, and the evidence. Without this arrhabon there can be no glory. See the whole case of Judah and Tamar, Gen 38:15 (note), etc., and the notes there.

Clarke: 2Co 1:23

I call God for a record upon my soul - The apostle here resumes the subject which he left 2Co 1:16, and in the most solemn manner calls God to witness, and consequently to punish, if he asserted any thing false, that it was through tenderness to them that he did not visit Corinth at the time proposed. As there were so many scandals among them, the apostle had reason to believe that he should be obliged to use the severe and authoritative part of his function in the excommunication of those who had sinned, and delivering them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, etc.; but to give them space to amend, and to see what effect his epistle might produce, (not having heard as yet from them), he proposed to delay his coming. It is plain, as several commentators have observed

1.    That St. Paul’ s doctrine had been opposed by some of Corinth, 1Co 15:12. His apostleship questioned, 1Co 9:1, 1Co 9:2, and 2Co 12:13

2.    Himself despised, and treated as a person who, because of the consciousness he had of his own worthlessness, dared not to come, 1Co 4:18. His letters, say they, are weighty and powerful - full of boastings of what he can and what he will do; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible, 2Co 10:10

3.    This being the state in which his reputation was then at Corinth, and he having promised to come to them, 1Co 16:5, he could not but think it necessary to vindicate his failing them by reasons which should be both convincing and kind, such as those contained in the preceding verses. See Dodd and others.

Clarke: 2Co 1:24

Not for that we have dominion over your faith - I will not come to exercise my apostolical authority in punishing them who have acted sinfully and disorderly; for this would be to several of you a cause of distress, the delinquents being friends and relatives; but I hope to come to promote your joy, to increase your spiritual happiness, by watering the seed which I have already sowed. This I think to be the meaning of the apostle. It is certain that the faith which they had already received was preached by the apostles; and, therefore, in a certain sense, according to our meaning of the term, they had a right to propound to them the articles which they ought to believe; and to forbid them, in the most solemn manner, to believe any thing else as Christianity which was opposed to those articles. In that sense they had dominion over their faith; and this dominion was essential to them as apostles. But shall any others - persons who are not apostles, who are not under the unerring and infallible influence of the Holy Ghost, arrogate to themselves this dominion over the faith of mankind; not only by insisting on them to receive new doctrines, taught nowhere by apostles or apostolic men; but also threatening them with perdition if they do not credit doctrines which are opposed to the very spirit and letter of the word of God? These things men, not only not apostles, but wicked, profligate, and ignorant, have insisted on as their right. Did they succeed? Yes, for a time; and that time was a time of thick darkness; a darkness that might be felt; a darkness producing nothing but misery, and lengthening out and deepening the shadow of death. But the light of God shone; the Scriptures were read; those vain and wicked pretensions were brought to the eternal touchstone: and what was the consequence? The splendor of truth pierced, dissipated, and annihilated them for ever

British Protestants have learned, and Europe is learning that the Sacred Writings, and they alone, contain what is necessary to faith and practice; and that no man, number of men, society, church, council, presbytery, consistory, or conclave, has dominion over any man’ s faith. The word of God alone is his rule, and to its Author he is to give account of the use he has made of it

Clarke: 2Co 1:24

For by faith ye stand - You believe not in us, but in God. We have prescribed to you on his authority, what you are to believe; you received the Gospel as coming from Him, and ye stand in and by that faith

The subjects in this chapter which are of the most importance have been carefully considered in the preceding notes. That alone of the apostle’ s oath has been passed by with general observations only. But, that it is an oath has been questioned by some. An oath, properly speaking, is an appeal to God, as the Searcher of the hearts for the truth of what is spoken; and an appeal to Him, as the Judge of right and wrong, to punish the falsity and perjury. All this appears to be implied in the awful words above: I call God for a record upon my soul; and this is not the only place in which the apostle uses words of the same import. See Rom 1:9; Rom 9:1, and the note on Rom 9:1 (note)

On this subject I have spoken pretty much at large at the end of the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy; but as it appears that there I have made a mistake in saying that the people called Quakers hold up their hand in a court of justice, when called upon to make affirmation, I take this opportunity to correct that expression, and to give the form of the oath, for so the law considers it, which the statute (7 and 8 of William III., cap. 34, sec. 1) required of this sect of Christians: "I, A. B., do declare in the presence of almighty God, the witness of the truth of what I say."Though this act was only intended at first to continue in force for seven years, yet it was afterwards made perpetual. See Burn, vol. iii., page 654

A more solemn and more awful form of an oath was never presented nor taken by man than this; no kissing of the book, holding up of the hand, nor laying hand on the Bible, can add either solemnity or weight to such an oath! It is as awful and as binding as any thing can be; and him, who would break this, no obligation can bind

But the religious people in question found their consciences aggrieved by this form, and made application to have another substituted for it; in consequence of this the form has undergone a little alteration, and the solemn affirmation which is to stand instead of an oath taken in the usual manner, as finally settled by the 8th Geo., cap. 6, is the following: "I, A. B., do solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare and affirm."Burn, vol. iii., page 656

It may be well to examine this solemn affirmation, and see whether it does not contain the essential principles of an oath; and whether it should not be reputed by all people, as being equal to any oath taken in the common form, and sufficiently binding on every conscience that entertains the belief of a God, and the doctrine of a future state. The word solemnly refers to the presence and omniscience of God, before whom the affirmation is made; and the word sincerely to the consciousness that the person has of the uprightness of his own soul, and the total absence of guile and deceit; and the word truly refers to the state of his understanding as to his knowledge of the fact in question. The word declare refers to the authority requiring, and the persons before whom this declaration is made; and the term affirm refers back to the words solemnly, sincerely, and truly, on which the declaration and affirmation are founded. This also contains all that is vital to the spirit and essence of an oath; and the honest man, who takes or makes it, feels that there is no form used among men by which his conscience can be more solemnly bound. As to the particular form, as long as it is not absurd or superstitious, it is a matter of perfect indifference as to the thing itself as long as the declaration or affirmation contains the spirit and essence of an oath; and that the law considers this as an oath, is evident from the following clause: "That if any one be convicted of having wilfully or falsely made this declaration or affirmation, such offender shall incur the same penalties and forfeitures as are enacted against persons convicted of wilful and corrupt perjury."I believe it may be said with strict truth, that few instances can be produced where this affirmation, which I must consider as a most solemn oath, was corruptly made by any accredited member of that religious society for whose peace and comfort it was enacted. And when this most solemn affirmation is properly considered, no man of reason will say that the persons who take it are not bound by a sufficient and available oath.

Calvin: 2Co 1:1

1.Paul an Apostle As to the reasons why he designates himself an Apostle of Christ, and adds that he has obtained this honor by the will of God, see the foregoing Epistle, where it has been observed that none are to be listened to but those, who have been sent by God, and speak from his mouth, and that, consequently, to secure authority for any one, two things are required — a call, and fidelity on the part of the person who is called, in the execution of his office. ²¹⁴ Both of these Paul claims for himself. The false apostles, it is true, do the same; but then, by usurping a title that does not belong to them, they gain nothing among the sons of God, who can with the utmost ease convict them of impertinence. Hence the mere name is not enough, if there be not the reality along with it, so that he who gives himself out as an Apostle must also show himself to be such by his work.

To the Church of God We must always keep it in view, his recognising a Church to exist, where there was such a conflux of evils. For the faults of individuals do not prevent a society that has genuine marks of religion ²¹⁵ from being recognised as a Church. ²¹⁶ But what does he mean by the expression — with all saints? Were those saints unconnected with the Church? I answer, that this phrase refers to believers, who were dispersed hither and thither, throughout various corners of the province — it being likely, that in that greatly disturbed period, when the enemies of Christ were everywhere venting their rage, many were scattered abroad, who could not conveniently hold sacred assemblies.

Calvin: 2Co 1:3

3.Blessed be God He begins (as has been observed) with this thanksgiving — partly for the purpose of extolling the goodness of God — partly, with the view of animating the Corinthians by his example to the resolute endurance of persecutions; and partly, that he may magnify himself in a strain of pious glorying, in opposition to the malignant slanderings of the false apostles. For such is the depravity of the world, that it treats with derision martyrdoms, ²¹⁷ which it ought to have held in admiration, and endeavours to find matter of reproach in the splendid trophies of the pious. ²¹⁸ Blessed be God, says he. On what account? who comforteth us ²¹⁹ — the relative being used instead of the causal particle. ²²⁰ He had endured his tribulations with fortitude and alacrity: this fortitude he ascribes to God, because it was owing to support derived from his consolation that he had not fainted.

He calls him the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not without good reason, where blessings are treated of; for where Christ is not, there the beneficence of God is not. On the other hand, where Christ intervenes,

by whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
(Eph 3:15,)

there are all mercies and all consolations of God — nay, more, there is fatherly love, the fountain from which everything else flows.

Calvin: 2Co 1:4

4.That we may be able to comfort There can be no doubt, that, as he had a little before cleared his afflictions from reproach and unfavorable reports, so now he instructs the Corinthians, that his having come off victorious through heavenly consolation was for their sake and with a view to their advantage, that they may stir themselves up to fellowship in suffering, instead of haughtily despising his conflicts. As, however, the Apostle lived not for himself but for the Church, so he reckoned, that whatever favors God conferred upon him, were not given for his own sake merely, ²²¹ but in order that he might have more in his power for helping others. And, unquestionably, when the Lord confers upon us any favor, he in a manner invites us by his example to be generous to our neighbours. The riches of the Spirit, therefore, are not to be kept by us to ourselves, but every one must communicate to others what he has received. This, it is true, must be considered as being applicable chiefly to ministers of the Word. ²²² It is, however, common to all, according to the measure of each. Thus Paul here acknowledges, that he had been sustained by the consolation of God, that he might be able himself to comfort others

Calvin: 2Co 1:5

5.For as the sufferings of Christ abound — This statement may be explained in two ways — actively and passively. If you take it actively, the meaning will be this: “The more I am tried with various afflictions, so much the more resources have I for comforting others.” I am, however, more inclined to take it in a passive sense, as meaning that God multiplied his consolations according to the measure of his tribulations. David also acknowledges that it had been thus with him:

According to the multitude, says he, of my anxieties within me,
thy consolations have delighted my soul. (Psa 94:19.)

In Paul’s words, however, there is a fuller statement of doctrine; for the afflictions of the pious he calls the sufferings of Christ, as he says elsewhere,

that he fills up in his body what is wanting in the
sufferings of Christ. (Col 1:24.)

The miseries and vexations, it is true, of the present life are common to good and bad alike, but when they befall the wicked, they are tokens of the curse of God, because they arise from sin, and nothing appears in them except the anger of God and participation with Adam, which cannot but depress the mind. But in the mean time believers are conformed to Christ, and

bear about with them in their body his dying, that the life of Christ may one day be manifested in them. (2Co 4:10.)

I speak of the afflictions which they endure for the testimony of Christ, (Rev 1:9,) for although the Lord’s chastisements, with which he chastises their sins, are beneficial to them, they are, nevertheless, not partakers, properly speaking, of Christ’s sufferings, except in those cases in which they suffer on his account, as we find in 1Pe 4:13. Paul’s meaning then is, that God is always present with him in his tribulations, and that his infirmity is sustained by the consolations of Christ, so as to prevent him from being overwhelmed with calamities.

Calvin: 2Co 1:6

6.Whether we are afflicted From the circumstance that before the clause our hope of you is steadfast, there is introduced the connecting particle and, Erasmus has conceived the idea, that some word must be understood to correspond with those words — for your consolation and salvation — in this way, whether we are afflicted, IT IS for your consolation. I think it, however, more probable, that the connecting particle and is used here as meaning: Thus also, or in both cases. He had already stated, that he received consolation in order that he might communicate it to others. Now he goes a step farther, and says, that he has a steadfast hope, that they would be partakers of the consolation Besides, some of the most ancient Greek manuscripts introduce immediately after the first clause this statement — and our hope of you is steadfast. ²²⁷ This reading removes all ambiguity. For when it is introduced in the middle, we must necessarily refer it to the latter clause, equally as to the former. At the same time, if any one wishes to have a complete sentence in each clause, by supplying some verb, there will be no great harm in this, and there will be no great difference as to the meaning. For if you read it as one continued statement, you must, at the same time, explain the different parts in this manner — that the Apostle is afflicted, and is refreshed with consolation for the advantage of the Corinthians; and that he entertains, therefore, the hope, ²²⁸ that they will be at length partakers of the same consolation, with what is in reserve for himself. For my own part, I have adopted the way that I have judged the more suitable.

It is, however, to be observed, that the word afflicted here refers not merely to outward misery, but also to that of the mind, so as to correspond with the opposite term comforted. (παρακαλεῖσθαι) Thus the meaning is, that the person’s mind is pressed down with anxiety from a feeling of misery. ²²⁹ What we render consolation, is in the Greek παράκλησις, — a term which signifies also exhortation. If, however, you understand that kind of consolation, by which a person’s mind is lightened of grief, and is raised above it, you will be in possession of Paul’s meaning. For example, Paul himself would well-nigh have fallen down dead under the pressure of so many afflictions, had not God encouraged him, by raising him up by means of his consolation. Thus, too, the Corinthians derive strength and fortitude of mind from his sufferings, ²³⁰ while they take comfort from his example. Let us now sum up the whole matter briefly. As he saw that his afflictions were made by some an occasion of holding him in contempt, with the view of calling back the Corinthians from an error of this nature, ²³¹ he shows in the first place that he ought to be in high esteem among them, in consideration of advantage redounding to themselves; and then afterwards he associates them with himself, that they may reckon his afflictions to be in a manner their own. “Whether I suffer afflictions, or experience consolation, it is all for your benefit, and I cherish an assured hope, that you will continue to enjoy this advantage.” ²³²

For such were Paul’s afflictions, and his consolations also, that they would have contributed to the edification of the Corinthians, had not the Corinthians of their own accord deprived themselves of the advantage redounding from it. He, accordingly, declares his confidence in the Corinthians to be such, that he entertains the assured hope that it will not be vain, that he has been afflicted, and has received consolation for their advantage. The false apostles made every effort to turn to Paul’s reproach everything that befell him. Had they obtained their wish, the afflictions which he endured for their salvation, had been vain and fruitless; they would have derived no advantage from the consolations with which the Lord refreshed him. To contrivances of this nature he opposes his present confidence. His afflictions tended to promote the comfort of believers, as furnishing them with occasion of confirmation, on their perceiving that he suffered willingly, and endured with fortitude so many hardships for the sake of the gospel. For however we may acknowledge that afflictions ought to be endured by us for the sake of the gospel, we, nevertheless, tremble through a consciousness of our weakness, and think ourselves not prepared for it. ²³³ In that case, we should call to mind the examples of the saints, which should make us more courageous.

On the other hand, his personal consolation flowed out to the whole Church, inasmuch as they concluded, ²³⁴ that God who had sustained and refreshed him in his emergency, would, in like manner, not be wanting to them. Thus their welfare was promoted in both ways, and this is what he introduces as it were by way of parenthesis, when he says — which is made effectual in the endurance, etc. For he wished to add this clause, by way of explanation, that they might not think that they had nothing to do with the afflictions which he alone endured. Erasmus takes the participle γουμένης in an active sense, ²³⁵ but a passive signification is more suitable, ²³⁶ as Paul designed simply to explain in what respect everything that befell him was for their salvation. He says, accordingly, that he suffers, indeed, alone, but that his sufferings are of use for promoting their salvation — not as though they were expiations or sacrifices for sins, but as edifying them by confirming them. Hence he conjoins consolation and salvation, with the view of pointing out the way in which their salvation was to be accomplished.

Calvin: 2Co 1:7

7.Knowing, that as However there might be some of the Corinthians that were drawn away for the time by the calumnies of the false Apostles, so as to entertain less honorable views of Paul, on seeing him shamefully handled before the world, he, nevertheless, associates them with himself both in fellowship of afflictions, and in hope of consolation. ²³⁷ Thus he corrects their perverse and malignant view, without subjecting them to an open rebuke.

Calvin: 2Co 1:8

8.For I would not have you ignorant He makes mention of the greatness and difficulty of his conflicts, that the glory of victory may thereby the more abundantly appear. Since the time of his sending them the former epistle, he had been exposed to great dangers, and had endured violent assaults. The probability, however, is that he refers here to the history, which Luke relates in Act 19:23, though in that passage he does not so distinctly intimate the extent of the danger. As, however, he states that the whole city was in a tumult, (Act 19:29,) it is easy from this to infer the rest. For we know what is the usual effect of a popular tumult, when it has been once kindled. By this persecution Paul declares he had been oppressed beyond measure, nay more, above strength, that is, so as not to be able to endure the burden. For it is a metaphor taken from persons who give way under the pressure of a heavy load, or from ships that sink from being overladen — not that he had actually fainted, but that he felt that his strength would have failed him, if the Lord had not imparted fresh strength. ²³⁸

So that we were in anxiety even as to life itself — that is, “So that I thought life was gone, or at least I had very little hope of it remaining, as those are wont to feel who are shut up so as to see no way of escape.” Was then so valiant a soldier of Christ, so brave a wrestler, left without strength, so as to look for nothing but death? ²³⁹ For he mentions it as the reason of what he had stated — that he despaired of life. I have already observed, that Paul does not measure his strength in connection with help from God, but according to his own personal feeling of his ability. Now there can be no doubt, that all human strength must give way before the fear of death. Farther, it is necessary that even saints themselves should be in danger of an entire failure of strength, that, being put in mind of their own weakness, they may learn, agreeably to what follows, to place their entire dependence on God alone. At the same time I have preferred to explain the word ἐξαπορεῖσθαι, which is made use of by Paul, as denoting a trembling anxiety, rather than render it, as Erasmus has done by the word despair; because he simply means, that he was hemmed in by the greatest difficulties, so that no means of preserving life seemed to remain. ²⁴⁰

Calvin: 2Co 1:9

9.Nay more, we had the sentence of death This is as though we should say — “I had already laid my account with dying, or had regarded it as a thing fixed.” He borrows, however, a similitude from those who are under sentence of death, and look for nothing but the hour when they are to die. At the same time he says, that this sentence had been pronounced by him upon himself, by which he intimates, that it was in his own view that he had been sentenced to death — that he might not seem to have had it from any revelation from God. In this sentence, ²⁴¹ therefore, there is something more implied than in the feeling of anxiety (ἐξαπορεῖσθαι) that he had made mention of, because in the former case there was despair of life, but in this case there is certain death. We must, however, take notice, chiefly, of what he adds as to the design — that he had been reduced to this extremity, that he might not trust in himself For I do not agree with what Chrysostom says — that the Apostle did not stand in need of such a remedy, but set himself forth to others as a pattern merely in appearance. ²⁴² For he was a man that was subject, in other respects, to like passions as other men — (Jas 5:17) — not merely to cold and heat, but also to misdirected confidence, rashness, and the like. I do not say that he was addicted to these vices, but this I say, that he was capable of being tempted to them, and that this was the remedy that God seasonably interposed, that they might not make their way into his mind. ²⁴³

There are, accordingly, two things to be observed here. In the first place — that the fleshly confidence with which we are puffed up, is so obstinate, that it cannot be overthrown in any other way than by our falling into utter despair. ²⁴⁴ For as the flesh is proud, it does not willingly give way, and never ceases to be insolent until it has been constrained; nor are we brought to true submission, until we have been brought down by the mighty hand of God. (1Pe 5:6.) Secondly, it is to be observed, that the saints themselves have some remains of this disease adhering to them, and that for this reason they are often reduced to an extremity, that, stript of all self-confidence, they may learn humility: nay more, that this malady is so deeply rooted in the minds of men, that even the most advanced are not thoroughly purged from it, until God sets death before their eyes. And hence we may infer, how displeasing to God confidence in ourselves must be, when for the purpose of correcting it, it is necessary that we should be condemned to death.

But in God that raiseth the dead As we must first die, ²⁴⁵ in order that, renouncing confidence in ourselves, and conscious of our own weakness, we may claim no honor to ourselves, so even that were not sufficient, if we did not proceed a step farther. Let us begin, therefore, with despairing of ourselves, but with the view of placing our hope in God. Let us be brought low in ourselves, but in order that we may be raised up by his power. Paul, accordingly, having brought to nothing the pride of the flesh, immediately substitutes in its place a confidence that rests upon God. Not in ourselves, says he, but in God

The epithet that follows, Paul has adapted to the connection of the subject, as he does in Rom 4:17, where he speaks of Abraham. For to

believe in God, who calleth those things that are not, as though they were, and to hope in God who raiseth the dead,

are equivalent to his setting before him as an object of contemplation, the power of God in creating his elect out of nothing, and raising up the dead. Hence Paul says, that death had been set before his eyes, that he might, in consequence of this, recognize the more distinctly the power of God, by which he had been raised up from the dead. The first thing in order, it is true, is this — that, by means of the strength with which God furnishes us, we should acknowledge him as the Author of life; but as in consequence of our dulness the light of life often dazzles our eyes, it is necessary that we should be brought to God by having death presented to our view. ²⁴⁶

Calvin: 2Co 1:10

10.Who hath delivered us from so great a death Here he applies to himself personally, what he had stated in a general way, and by way of proclaiming the grace of God, he declares that he had not been disappointed in his expectation, inasmuch as he had been delivered from death, and that too, in no common form. As to his manner of expression, the hyperbole, which he makes use of, is not unusual in the Scriptures, for it frequently occurs, both in the Prophets and in the Psalms, and it is made use of even in common conversation. What Paul acknowledges as to himself personally, let every one now take home as applicable to himself.

In whom we have an assured hope He promises himself as to the future, also, that beneficence of God, which he had often experienced in the past. Nor is it without good reason; for the Lord, by accomplishing in part what he has promised, bids us hope well as to what remains. Nay more, in proportion to the number of favors that we receive from him, does he by so many pledges, or earnests, as it were, confirm his promises. ²⁴⁷ Now, although Paul had no doubt that God would of his own accord be present with him, yet he exhorts the Corinthians to commend to God in their prayers his safety. For when he assumes it as certain, that he will be aided by them, this declaration has the force of an exhortation, and he means that they would not merely do it as a matter of duty, but also with advantage. ²⁴⁸

“Your prayers, also,” he says, “will help me.” ²⁴⁹ For God wills not that the duty of mutual intercession, which he enjoins upon us, should be without advantage. This ought to be a stimulus to us, on the one hand, to solicit the intercession of our brethren, when we are weighed down by any necessity, and, on the other, to render similar assistance in return, since we are informed, that it is not only a duty that is well pleasing to God, but also profitable to ourselves. Nor is it owing to distrust that the Apostle implores the friendly aid of his brethren, ²⁵⁰ for, while he felt assured, that his safety would be the object of God’s care, ²⁵¹ though he were destitute of all human help, yet he knew that it was well pleasing to God, that he should be aided by the prayers of the saints. He had respect, also, to the promises that were given, that assistance of this kind would not be in vain. Hence, in order that he might not overlook any assistance that was appointed to him by God, he desired that the brethren should pray for his preservation.

The sum is this — that we follow the word of God, that is, that we obey his commandments and cleave to his promises. This is not the part of those who have recourse to the assistance of the dead; ²⁵² for not contented with the sources of help appointed by God, they call in to their aid a new one, that has no countenance from any declaration of Scripture. For whatever we find mentioned there as to mutual intercession, has no reference to the dead, but is expressly restricted to the living. Hence Papists act childishly in perverting those passages, so as to give some colour to their superstition. ²⁵³

Calvin: 2Co 1:11

11.That the gift bestowed upon us through means of many persons As there is some difficulty in Paul’s words, interpreters differ as to the meaning. I shall not spend time in setting aside the interpretations of others, nor indeed is there any need for this, provided only we are satisfied as to the true and proper meaning. He had said, that the prayers of the Corinthians would be an assistance to him. He now adds a second advantage that would accrue from it — a higher manifestation of God’s glory. “For whatever God will confer upon me,” says he, “being as it were obtained through means of many persons, will, also, by many be celebrated with praises: ” or in this way — “Many will give thanks to God in my behalf, because, in affording help to me, he has favorably regarded the prayers, not merely of one but of many.” In the first place, while it is our duty to allow no favor from God to pass without rendering praise, it becomes us, nevertheless, more especially when our prayers have been favorably regarded by him, to acknowledge his mercy with thanksgiving, as he commands us to do in Psa 50:15. Nor ought this to be merely where our own personal interest is concerned, but also where the welfare of the Church in general, or that of any one of our brethren is involved. Hence when we mutually pray one for another, and obtain our desire, the glory of God is so much the more set forth, inasmuch as we all acknowledge, with thanksgiving, God’s benefits — both those that are conferred publicly upon the whole Church, and also those that are bestowed privately upon individuals.

In this interpretation there is nothing forced; for as to the circumstance that in the Greek the article being introduced between the two clauses by many persons, and the gift conferred upon me appears to disjoin them, ²⁵⁴ that has no force, as it is frequently found introduced between clauses that are connected with each other. Here, however, it is with propriety introduced in place of an adversative particle; ²⁵⁵ for although it had come forth from many persons, it was nevertheless peculiar to Paul. To take the phrase διὰ πολλῶν ( by means of many) in the neuter gender, ²⁵⁶ as some do, is at variance with the connection of the passage.

It may, however, be asked, why he says From many persons, rather than From many men, and what is the meaning of the term person here? I answer, it is as though he had said — With respect to many. For the favor was conferred upon Paul in such a way, that it might be given to many. Hence, as God had respect to many, he says on that account, that many persons were the cause of it. Some Greek manuscripts have ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν — on your account; and although this appears to be at variance with Paul’s design, and the connection of the words, it may, nevertheless, be explained with propriety in this manner: “When God shall have heard you in behalf of my welfare, and that too for your own welfare, thanks will be given by many on your account.”

Calvin: 2Co 1:12

12.For our glorying is this He assigns a reason why his preservation should be a subject of interest to all — that he had conducted himself ²⁵⁸ among them all in simplicity and sincerity He deserved, therefore, to be dear to them, and it would have been very unfeeling not to be concerned in reference to such a servant of the Lord, that he might be long preserved for the benefit of the Church. “I have conducted myself before all in such a manner, that it is no wonder if I have the approbation and love of all good men.” He takes occasion from this, however, for the sake of those to whom he was writing, to make a digression for the purpose of declaring his own integrity. As, however, it is not enough to be approved of by man’s judgment, and as Paul himself was harassed by the unjust and malignant judgments of some, or rather by corrupt and blind attachments, ²⁵⁹ he adduces his own conscience as his witness — which is all one as though he had cited God as a witness, or had made what he says matter of appeal to his tribunal.

But how does Paul’s glorying in his integrity comport with that statement,

He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord?
(2Co 10:17.)

Besides, who is so upright ²⁶⁰ as to dare to boast in the presence of God? In the first place, Paul does not oppose himself to God, as though he had anything that was his own, or that was from himself. Farther, he does not place the foundation of his salvation in that integrity to which he lays claim, nor does he make confidence in that the ground of his dependence. Lastly, he does not glory in God’s gifts in such a way as not at the same time to render all the glory to him as their sole Author, and ascribe everything to him. ²⁶¹ These three exceptions lay a foundation for every godly person glorying on good grounds in all God’s benefits; while the wicked, on the other hand, cannot glory even in God, except on false and improper grounds. Let us therefore, first of all, acknowledge ourselves to be indebted to God for everything good that we possess, claiming no merit to ourselves. Secondly, let us hold fast this foundation — that our dependence for salvation be grounded exclusively on the mercy of God. Lastly, let us repose ourselves ²⁶² in the sole author of every blessing. Then in that there will be a pious ²⁶³ glorying in every kind of blessing.

That in the simplicity ²⁶⁴ of God. He employs the expression simplicity of God here, in the same way as in Rom 3:23, the glory of God; and in Joh 12:43, the glory of God and of men. Those who love the glory of men, wish to appear something before men, or to stand well in the opinion of men. The glory of God is what a man has in the sight of God. Hence Paul does not reckon it enough to declare that his sincerity was perceived by men, but adds, that he was such in the sight of God. Εἰλικρινείᾳ (which I have rendered purity) is closely connected with simplicity; for it is an open and upright way of acting, such as makes a man’s heart as it were transparent. ²⁶⁵ Both terms stand opposed to craft, deception, and all underhand schemes.

Not in fleshly wisdom There is here a sort of anticipation; for what might be felt to be wanting in him he readily acknowledges, nay more, he openly proclaims, that he is destitute of, but adds, that he is endowed with what is incomparably more excellent — the grace of God “I acknowledge,” says he, “that I am destitute of fleshly wisdom, but I have been furnished with divine influence, and if any one is not satisfied with that, he is at liberty to depreciate my Apostleship. If, on the other hand, fleshly wisdom is of no value, then I want nothing that is not fitted to secure well-grounded praise.” He gives the name of fleshly wisdom to everything apart from Christ, that procures for us the reputation of wisdom. See the first and second chapters of the former epistle. Hence, by the grace of God, which is contrasted with it, we must understand everything that transcends man’s nature and capacity, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which openly manifested the power of God in the weakness of the flesh.

More abundantly towards you Not that he had been less upright elsewhere, but that he had remained longer at Corinth, in order that he might (not to mention other purposes) afford a fuller and clearer proof of his integrity. He has, however, expressed himself intentionally in such a way as to intimate that he did not require evidences that were far-fetched, inasmuch as they were themselves the best witnesses of all that he had said.

Calvin: 2Co 1:13

13.For we write no other things Here he indirectly reproves the false apostles, who recommended themselves by immoderate boastings, while they had little or no ground for it; and at the same time he obviates calumnies, in order that no one may object, that he claims for himself more than is his due. He says, therefore, that he does not in words boast of anything that he is not prepared to make good by deeds, and that, too, from the testimony of the Corinthians.

The ambiguity, however, of the words, has given occasion for this passage being misinterpreted. Αναγινώσκειν, among the Greeks, signifies sometimes to read, and at other times to recognize. Επιγινώσκειν sometimes signifies to discover, while at other times it means what the Latins properly express by the verb agnoscere , to own, as among lawyers the phrase is used to own a child, ²⁶⁶ as Budaeus also has observed. In this way ἐπιγινώσκειν means more than ἀναγινώσκειν For we say that a person recognises a thing, that is, that being silently convinced of it in his judgment, he perceives it to be true, while at the same time he does not acknowledge it, or, in other words, cordially intimate his assent to it.

Let us now examine Paul’s words. Some read thus — We write no other things than what ye read and acknowledge, which it is very manifest is exceedingly lifeless, not to say senseless. For as to Ambrose’s qualifying the statement in this way — You not only read, but also acknowledge, there is no one that does not perceive that it is quite foreign to the import of the words. And the meaning that I have stated is plain, and hangs together naturally, and, up to this point, there is nothing to prevent readers from understanding it, were it not that they have had their eyes shut, from being misled by the different meanings of the word. The sum is this — that Paul declares, that he brings forward no other things than what were known and perceived by the Corinthians — nay more, things as to which they would bear him witness. The first term employed is recognoscere , (to recognize,) which is applicable, when persons are convinced from experience that matters are so. The second is agnoscere , (to acknowledge,) meaning that they give their assent to the truth. ²⁶⁷

And, I hope, will acknowledge even to the end As the Corinthians had not yet perfectly returned to a sound mind, so as to be prepared to weigh his fidelity in a just and even balance, ²⁶⁸ but at the same time had begun to abate somewhat of their perverse and malignant judgment respecting him, he intimates, that he hopes better as to the future. “You have already,” says he, “to some extent acknowledged me. I hope that you will acknowledge more and more what I have been among you, and in what manner I have conducted myself.” ²⁶⁹ From this it appears more clearly what he meant by the word ἐπιγινώσκειν. ( acknowledge ²⁷⁰) Now this relates to a season of repentance, for they had at the beginning acknowledged him fully and thoroughly; afterwards their right judgment had been beclouded ²⁷¹ by unfair statements, but they had at length begun to return in part to a sound mind.

Calvin: 2Co 1:14

14.For we are your glorying We have briefly adverted to the manner in which it is allowable for saints to glory in God’s benefits — when they repose themselves in God alone, and have no other object of aim. Thus it was a ground of pious glorying on the part of Paul, that he had, by his ministry, brought the Corinthians under obedience to Christ; and of the Corinthians, on the other hand, that they had been trained up so faithfully and so virtuously by such an Apostle — a privilege that had not been allotted to all. This way of glorying in men does not stand in the way of our glorying in God alone. Now he instructs the Corinthians, that it is of the greatest importance for themselves that they should acknowledge him to be a faithful, and not a merely pretended, servant of Christ; because, in the event of their withdrawing from him, they would deprive themselves of the highest glory. In these words he reproves their fickleness, inasmuch as they voluntarily deprived themselves of the highest glory, by listening too readily to the spiteful and envious.

In the day of the Lord By this I understand the last day, which will put an end to all the fleeting ²⁷² glories of this world. He means, then, that the glorying of which he is now speaking is not evanescent, as those things are that glitter in the eyes of men, but is abiding and stable, inasmuch as it will remain until the day of Christ. For then will Paul enjoy the triumph of the many victories that he had obtained under Christ’s auspices, and will lead forth in splendor all the nations that have, by means of his ministry, been brought under Christ’s glorious yoke; and the Church of the Corinthians will glory in having been founded and trained up by the services of so distinguished an Apostle.

Calvin: 2Co 1:15

15.In this confidence After having given them reason to expect that he would come, he had subsequently changed his intention. This was made an occasion of calumny against him, as appears from the excuse that he brings forward. When he says that it was from relying on this confidence that he formed the purpose of coming to them, he indirectly throws the blame upon the Corinthians, inasmuch as they had, by their ingratitude, hindered, to some extent, his coming to them, by depriving him of that confidence.

That ye might have a second benefit The first benefit had been this — that he had devoted himself for the entire period of a year and six months (Act 18:11) to the work of gaining them to the Lord; the second was their being confirmed, by means of his coming to them, in the faith which they had once received, and being stirred up by his sacred admonitions to make farther progress. Of this latter benefit the Corinthians had deprived themselves, inasmuch as they had not allowed the apostle to come to them. They were paying, therefore, the penalty of their own fault, and they had no ground for imputing any blame to Paul. If any one, however, prefers, with Chrysostom, to take χάριν (benefit) as used instead of καράν , (joy,) I do not much object to it. ²⁷⁵ The former interpretation, however, is more simple.

Calvin: 2Co 1:17

17.Did I use fickleness? There are two things, more especially, that prevent the purposes of men from being carried into effect, or their promises from being faithfully performed. The one is that they make changes upon them almost every hour, and the other is that they are too rash in forming their plans. It is a sign of changeableness to purpose or promise what you almost immediately afterwards regret. With that fault Paul declares he had not been chargeable. “I have not,” says he, “through fickleness drawn back from the promise that I made.” He declares also that he had been on his guard against rashness and misdirected confidence; for such is the way in which I explain the expression — purpose according to the flesh For it is, as I have stated, the common practice of men, as though they were not dependent on God’s providence, and were not subject to his will, to determine rashly and presumptuously what they will do. Now God, with the view of punishing this presumption, defeats their plans, so as to prevent them from having a prosperous issue, and in many instances holds up themselves to ridicule.

The expression, it is true, according to the flesh, might be extended farther, so as to include all wicked schemes, and such as are not directed to a right end, as for example such as are dictated by ambition, avarice, or any other depraved affection. Paul, however, in my opinion, did not intend here to refer to any thing of that nature, but merely to reprove that rashness which is but too customary on the part of man, and in daily use in the forming of plans. To purpose, therefore, according to the flesh, is not owning God as our ruler, but, instead of this, being impelled by a rash presumption, which is afterwards justly derided by God, and punished. The apostle, with the view of clearing himself from these faults, proposes a question, as if in the person of his opponents. Hence it is probable, as I have already said, that some unfavorable report had been put in circulation by wicked persons.

That with me there should be yea, yea Some connect this statement with what goes before, and explain it thus: “As if it were in my power to perform whatever I purpose, as men determine that they will do whatever comes into their mind, and order their ways, as Solomon speaks, (Pro 16:1,) while they cannot so much as govern their tongue.” And, undoubtedly, the words seem to imply this much — that what has been once affirmed must remain fixed, and what has been once denied must never be done. So James in his Epistle (Jas 5:12) says,

Let your yea be yea, and your nay nay, lest ye fall into dissimulation.

Farther, the context would in this way suit exceedingly well as to what goes before. For to purpose according to the flesh is this — when we wish that, without any exception, our determinations shall be like oracles. ²⁷⁶ This interpretation, However, does not accord with what immediately follows — God is faithful, etc., where Paul makes use of the same form of expression, when he has it in view to intimate, that he had not been unfaithful in his preaching. Now it were absurd, if almost in the same verse he reckoned it as a fault that his yea should be yea, and his nay nay, and yet at the same time laid claim to it as his highest praise. I am aware of what could be said in reply, if any one were disposed to sport himself with subtleties, but I have no relish for anything that is not solid.

I have, therefore, no doubt, that in these words Paul designed to reprove fickleness, although they may seem to be susceptible of another meaning, for the purpose of clearing himself from that calumny — that he was accustomed to promise in words what he failed to perform in deeds. ²⁷⁷ Thus the reiterating of the affirmation and negation will not have the same meaning as in Mat 5:37 and in James, but will bear this meaning — “that yea should with me be in this instance yea, and on the other hand, when it pleases me, nay, nay ” At the same time it is possible that it may have crept in through the ignorance of transcribers, as the old translation does not redouble the words, ²⁷⁸ However this may be, we ought not to be very solicitous as to the words, provided we are in possession of the apostle’s intention, which, as I have said, clearly appears from what follows. ²⁷⁹

Calvin: 2Co 1:18

18.God is faithful By the term word he means doctrine, as is manifest from the reason that he adds, when he says, that the Son of God, who is preached by him, is not variable, etc. As to his being always consistent with himself in point of doctrine, and not differing from himself, ²⁸⁰ he intends that by this they shall form a judgment as to his integrity, and in this way he removes every unfavorable suspicion of fickleness or unfaithfulness. It does not, however, necessarily follow, that the man who is faithful in doctrine, is also observant of truth in all his words. But as Paul did not reckon it of much importance in what estimation he was held, provided only the majesty of his doctrine remained safe and sound, he, on that account, calls the attention of the Corinthians chiefly to that matter. He intimates, it is true, that he observed in his whole life the same course of fidelity, as the Corinthians had seen in his ministry. He seems, however, as if intentionally, in repelling the calumny, to transfer it from his person to his doctrine, because he was unwilling that his apostleship should be indirectly defamed, while he was not greatly concerned as to himself in other respects.

But observe, with what zeal he applies himself to this. For he calls God to witness, how simple and pure his preaching was — not ambiguous, not variable, not temporizing. In his oath, too, he connects the truth of God with the truth of his doctrine. “The truth of my preaching is as sure and stable as God is faithful and true.” Nor is this to be wondered at, for the word of God, which Isaiah says endureth for ever, (Isa 40:8,) is no other than what prophets and apostles published to the world, as Peter explains it. (1Pe 1:25.) Hence, too, his confidence ²⁸¹ in denouncing a curse upon angels, if they dared to bring another gospel, one that was at variance with his. (Gal 1:8.) Who would dare to make the angels of heaven subject to his doctrine, if he had not God as his authority and defense? With such an assurance of a good conscience does it become ministers ²⁸² to be endowed, who mount the pulpit to speak the word in Christ’s name — so as to feel assured that their doctrine can no more be overthrown than God himself.

Calvin: 2Co 1:19

19.For the Son of God Here we have the proof — because his preaching ²⁸³ contained nothing but Christ alone, who is the eternal and immutable truth of God. The clause preached by us is emphatic. For, as it may be, and often does happen, that Christ is disfigured by the inventions ²⁸⁴ of men, and is adulterated, as it were, by their disguises, he declares that it had not been so as to himself or his associates, but that he had sincerely and with an integrity that was befitting, held forth Christ pure and undisguised. Why it is that he makes no mention of Apollos, while he mentions by name Timotheus and Silvanus, does not exactly appear; unless the reason be, as is probable, that the more that individuals were assailed by the calumnies of the wicked, ²⁸⁵ he was so much the more careful to defend them.

In these words, however, he intimates that his whole doctrine was summed up in a simple acquaintance with Christ alone, as in reality the whole of the gospel is included in it. Hence those go beyond due limits, who teach anything else than Christ alone, with whatever show of wisdom they may otherwise be puffed up. For as he is the end of the law, (Rom 10:4,) so he is the head — the sum — in fine, the consummation — of all spiritual doctrine.

In the second place, he intimates that his doctrine respecting Christ had not been variable, or ambiguous, so as to present him from time to time in a new shape after the manner of Proteus; ²⁸⁶ as some persons make it their sport to make changes upon him, ²⁸⁷ just as if they were tossing a ball to and fro with their hand, simply for the purpose of displaying their dexterity. Others, with a view to procure the favor of men, present him under various forms, while there is still another class, that inculcate one day what on the next they retract through fear. Such was not Paul’s Christ, nor can that of any true apostle ²⁸⁸ be such. Those, accordingly, have no ground to boast that they are ministers of Christ, who paint him in various colors with a view to their own advantage. For he alone is the true Christ, in whom there appears that uniform and unvarying yea, which Paul declares to be characteristic of him.

Calvin: 2Co 1:20

20.For all the promises of God — Here again he shows how firm and unvarying the preaching of Christ ought to be, inasmuch as he is the groundwork ²⁸⁹ of all the promises of God. For it were worse than absurd to entertain the idea that he, in whom all the promises of God are established, is like one that wavers. ²⁹⁰ Now though the statement is general, as we shall see ere long, it is, notwithstanding, accommodated to the circumstances of the case in hand, with the view of confirming the certainty of Paul’s doctrine. For it is not simply of the gospel in general that he treats, but he honors more especially his own gospel with this distinction. “If the promises of God are sure and well-founded, my preaching also must of necessity be sure, inasmuch as it contains nothing but Christ, in whom they are all established.” As, however, in these words he means simply that he preached a gospel that was genuine, and not adulterated by any foreign additions, ²⁹¹ let us keep in view this general doctrine, that all the promises of God rest upon Christ alone as their support — a sentiment that is worthy of being kept in remembrance, and is one of the main articles of our faith. It depends, however, on another principle — that it is only in Christ that God the Father is propitious to us. Now the promises are testimonies of his fatherly kindness towards us. Hence it follows, that it is in him alone that they are fulfilled.

The promises, I say, are testimonies of Divine grace: for although God shows kindness even to the unworthy, (Luk 6:35,) yet when promises are given in addition to his acts of kindness, there is a special reason — that in them he declares himself to be a Father. Secondly, we are not qualified for enjoying the promises of God, unless we have received the remission of our sins, which we obtain through Christ. Thirdly, the promise, by which God adopts us to himself as his sons, holds the first place among them all. Now the cause and root of adoption is Christ; because God is not a Father to any that are not members and brethren of his only-begotten Son. Everything, however, flows out from this source — that, while we are without Christ, we are hated by God rather than favorably regarded, while at the same time God promises us everything that he does promise, because he loves us. Hence it is not to be wondered if Paul here teaches, that all the promises of God are ratified and confirmed in Christ.

It is asked, however, whether they were feeble or powerless, previously to Christ’s advent; for Paul seems to speak here of Christ as manifested in the flesh. (1Ti 3:16.) I answer, that all the promises that were given to believers from the beginning of the world were founded upon Christ. Hence Moses and the Prophets, in every instance in which they treat of reconciliation with God, of the hope of salvation, or of any other favor, make mention of him, and discourse at the same time respecting his coming and his kingdom. I say again, that the promises under the Old Testament were fulfilled to the pious, in so far as was advantageous for their welfare; and yet it is not less true, that they were in a manner suspended until the advent of Christ, through whom they obtained their true accomplishment. And in truth, believers themselves rested upon the promises in such a way, as at the same time to refer the true accomplishment of them to the appearing of the Mediator, and suspended their hope until that time. In fine, if any one considers what is the fruit of Christ’s death and resurrection, he will easily gather from this, in what respect the promises of God have been sealed and ratified in him, which would otherwise have had no sure accomplishment.

Wherefore, also, through him let there be Amen Here also the Greek manuscripts do not agree, for some of them have it in one continued statement — As many promises of God as there are, are in him Yea, and in him Amen to the glory of God through us. ²⁹² The different reading, however, which I have followed, is easier, and contains a fuller meaning. For as he had said, that, in Christ, God has confirmed the truth of all his promises, so now he teaches us, that it is our duty to acquiesce in this ratification. This we do, when, resting upon Christ by a sure faith, we subscribe and set our seal that God is true, as we read in Joh 3:33, and that with a view to his glory, as this is the end to which everything should be referred. (Eph 1:13, and Rom 3:4.)

The other reading, I confess, is the more common one, but as it is somewhat meagre, I have not hesitated to prefer the one that contains the fuller meaning, and, besides, is much better suited to the context. For Paul reminds the Corinthians of their duty — to utter their Amen in return, after having been instructed in the simple truth of God. If, however, any one is reluctant to depart from the other reading, there must, in any case, be an exhortation deduced from it ²⁹³ to a mutual agreement in doctrine and faith.

Calvin: 2Co 1:21

God, indeed, is always true and steadfast in his promises, and has always his Amen, as often as he speaks. But as for us, such is our vanity, that we do not utter our Amen in return, except when he gives a sure testimony in our hearts by his word. This he does by his Spirit. That is what Paul means here. He had previously taught, that this is a befitting harmony — when, on the one hand, the calling of God is without repentance, (Rom 11:29,) and we, in our turn, with an unwavering faith, accept of the blessing of adoption that is held out to us. That God remains steadfast to his promise is not surprising; but to keep pace with God in the steadfastness of our faith in return — that truly is not in man’s power. ²⁹⁴ He teaches us, also, that God cures our weakness or defect, (as they term it,) when, by correcting our belief, he confirms us by his Spirit. Thus it comes, that we glorify him by a firm steadfastness of faith. He associates himself, however, with the Corinthians, expressly for the purpose of conciliating their affections the better, with a view to the cultivation of unity. ²⁹⁵

21.Who hath anointed us He employs different terms to express one and the same thing. For along with confirmation, he employs the terms anointing and sealing, or, by this twofold metaphor, ²⁹⁶ he explains more distinctly what he had previously stated without a figure. For God, by pouring down upon us the heavenly grace of the Spirit, does, in this manner, seal upon our hearts the certainty of his own word. He then introduces a fourth idea — that the Spirit has been given to us as an earnest — a similitude which he frequently makes use of, and is also exceedingly appropriate. ²⁹⁷ For as the Spirit, in bearing witness of our adoption, is our security, and, by confirming the faith of the promises, is the seal (σφραγὶς), so it is on good grounds that he is called an earnest, ²⁹⁸ because it is owing to him, that the covenant of God is ratified on both sides, which would, but for this, have hung in suspense. ²⁹⁹

Here we must notice, in the first place, the relation ³⁰⁰ which Paul requires between the gospel of God and our faith; for as every thing that God says is more than merely certain, so he wishes that this should be established in our minds by a firm and sure assent. Secondly, we must observe that, as an assurance of this nature is a thing that is above the capacity of the human mind, it is the part of the Holy Spirit to confirm within us what God promises in his word. Hence it is that he has those titles of distinction — the Anointing, the Earnest, the Comforter, and the Seal. In the third place we must observe, that all that have not the Holy Spirit as a witness, so as to return their Amen to God, when calling them to an assured hope of salvation, do on false grounds assume the name of Christians.

Calvin: 2Co 1:23

23.I call God for a witness He now begins to assign a reason for his change of purpose; for hitherto he has merely repelled calumny. When, however, he says that he spared them, he indirectly throws back the blame upon them, and thus shows them that it would be unfair if he were put to grief through their fault, but that it would be much more unfair if they should permit this; but most of all unfair if they should give their assent to so base a calumny, as in that case they would be substituting in their place an innocent person, as if he had been guilty of their sin. Now he spared them in this respect, that if he had come he would have been constrained to reprove them more severely, while he wished rather that they should of their own accord repent previously to his arrival, that there might be no occasion for a harsher remedy, ³⁰³ which is a signal evidence of more than paternal lenity. For how much forbearance there was in shunning this necessity, when he had just ground of provocation!

He makes use, also, of an oath, that he may not seem to have contrived something to serve a particular purpose. For the matter in itself was of no small importance, and it was of great consequence that he should be entirely free from all suspicion of falsehood and pretence. Now there are two things that make an oath lawful and pious — the occasion and the disposition. The occasion I refer to is, where an oath is not employed rashly, that is, in mere trifles, or even in matters of small importance, but only where there is a call for it. The disposition I refer to is, where there is not so much regard had to private advantage, as concern felt for the glory of God, and the advantage of the brethren: For this end must always be kept in view, that our oaths may promote the honor of God, and promote also the advantage of our neighbours in a matter that is befitting. ³⁰⁴

The form of the oath must also be observed — first, that he calls God to witness; and, secondly, that he says upon my soul For in matters that are doubtful and obscure, where man’s knowledge fails, we have recourse to God, that he, who alone is truth, may bear testimony to the truth. But the man that appeals to God as his witness, calls upon him at the same time to be an avenger of perjury, in the event of his declaring what is false. This is what is meant by the phrase upon my soul. “I do not object to his inflicting punishment upon me, if I am guilty of falsehood.” Although, however, this is not always expressed in so many words, it is, notwithstanding, to be understood. For

if we are unfaithful, God remaineth faithful
and will not deny himself (2Ti 2:13.)

He will not suffer, therefore, the profanation of his name to go unpunished.

Calvin: 2Co 1:24

24.Not that we exercise dominion He anticipates an objection that might be brought forward. “What! Do you then act so tyrannically ³⁰⁵ as to be formidable in your very look? Such were not the gravity of a Christian pastor, but the cruelty of a savage tyrant.” He answers this objection first indirectly, by declaring that matters are not so; and afterwards directly, by showing that the very circumstance, that he had been constrained to treat them more harshly, was owing to his fatherly affection. When he says that he does not exercise dominion over their faith, he intimates, that such a power is unjust and intolerable — nay more, is tyranny in the Church. For faith ought to be altogether exempt, and to the utmost extent free, from the yoke of men. We must, however, observe, who it is that speaks, for if ever there was a single individual of mortals, that had authority to claim for himself such a dominion, Paul assuredly was worthy of such a privilege. Yet he acknowledges, ³⁰⁶ that it does not belong to him. Hence we infer, that faith owns no subjection except to the word of God, and that it is not at all in subjection to human control. ³⁰⁷ Erasmus has observed in his Annotations, that by supplying the Greek particle ἕνεκα, it may be understood in this way — Not that we exercise dominion over you — with respect to your faith — a rendering which amounts almost to the same thing. For he intimates, that there is no spiritual dominion, except that of God only. This always remains a settled point — pastors have no peculiar dominion over men’s consciences, ³⁰⁸ inasmuch as they are ministers, not lords. (1Pe 5:3.)

What then does he leave to himself and others? He calls them helpers of their joy — by which term I understand happiness. At the same time he employs the term joy as opposed to the terror which tyrants awaken through means of their cruelty, and also false prophets, ³⁰⁹ resembling tyrants, that rule with rigor and authority, as we read in Eze 34:4. He argues from contraries, that he did by no means usurp dominion over the Corinthians, inasmuch as he endeavored rather to maintain them in the possession of a peace that was free, and full of joy.

For by faith ye stand As to the reason why he adds this, others either pass it over altogether in silence, or they do not explain it with sufficient distinctness. For my part, I am of opinion that he here again argues from contraries. For if the nature and effect of faith be such that we lean, in order that we may stand, ³¹⁰ it is absurd to speak of faith as being subject to men. Thus he removes that unjust dominion, with which, he had a little before declared, he was not chargeable.

Defender: 2Co 1:1

Paul's previous epistle to the Corinthians had been written from Ephesus; this was written only a year or so later, probably from Philippi (Act 20:3-6)."

Defender: 2Co 1:3

The "Father" is thus our "Comforter." The word "comfort" in these verses (also note 2Co 1:4, 2Co 1:6, 2Co 1:7, a total of ten times), is either parakaleo or paraklesis, in some cases translated "consolation." Its meaning is essentially "be called alongside." It is related also to parakletos, translated "Comforter" in Joh 14:26, speaking of the Holy Spirit, and "advocate" in 1Jo 2:1, speaking of Jesus Christ. Thus, each Person of the Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - can be the One who comforts us, however and whenever we have need for comfort, consolation or advocacy."

Defender: 2Co 1:7

The same wonderful promise is repeated often in the New Testament epistles (Rom 8:18; 2Co 4:17; 1Pe 4:13)."

Defender: 2Co 1:8

Since Paul's first visit to Corinth, he had suffered many other perils and persecutions (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)."

Defender: 2Co 1:14

"A crown of rejoicing" awaits those who will be greeted by people won to Christ, in part through their witness, in the day when Christ returns (compare 1Th 2:19)."

Defender: 2Co 1:20

God does not speak in uncertain sounds (1Co 14:8), and neither should we (Mat 5:37). All His promises will be fulfilled, and all His warnings mean exactly what they say."

Defender: 2Co 1:22

The "earnest" is "earnest money," the deposit paid in part in assurance that the whole will be fulfilled in the proper time (2Co 5:5; Eph 1:14; on the sealing of the Spirit, see Eph 1:13)."

TSK: 2Co 1:1

Paul : Rom 1:1-5; 1Co 1:1; 1Ti 1:1; 2Ti 1:1

Timothy : Act 16:1; Rom 16:21; 1Co 16:10; Phi 1:1, Phi 2:19-22; Col 1:1, Col 1:2; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1; Heb 13:23

the church : Act 18:1-11; 1Co 1:2

all : 1Co 6:11; Eph 1:1

Achaia : 2Co 9:2, 2Co 11:10; Act 18:12; Rom 15:26, Rom 16:5; 1Co 16:15; 1Th 1:7, 1Th 1:8

TSK: 2Co 1:2

Rom 1:7; 2Sa 15:20; 1Ch 12:18; Dan 4:1; 1Co 1:3; Gal 6:16; Eph 6:23; Phi 1:2; Col 1:2; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:2; Phm 1:3

TSK: 2Co 1:3

Blessed : Gen 14:20; 1Ch 29:10; Neh 9:5; Job 1:21; Psa 18:46, Psa 72:19; Dan 4:34; Eph 1:3; 1Pe 1:3

the Father of our : 2Co 11:31; Joh 5:22, Joh 5:23, Joh 10:30, Joh 20:17; Rom 15:6; Eph 1:3, Eph 1:17; Phi 2:11; 2Jo 1:4, 2Jo 1:9

the Father of mercies : Psa 86:5, Psa 86:15; Dan 9:9; Mic 7:18

the God : Rom 15:5

TSK: 2Co 1:4

comforteth : 2Co 7:6, 2Co 7:7; Psa 86:17; Isa 12:1, Isa 49:10, Isa 51:3, Isa 51:12, Isa 52:9, Isa 66:12, Isa 66:13; Joh 14:16; Joh 14:18, Joh 14:26; 2Th 2:16, 2Th 2:17

that : 2Co 1:5, 2Co 1:6; Psa 32:5, Psa 32:7, Psa 34:2-6, Psa 66:16; Isa 40:1, Isa 66:14; Phi 1:14; 1Th 4:18; 1Th 5:11; Heb 12:12

TSK: 2Co 1:5

as : 2Co 4:10,2Co 4:11, 2Co 11:23-30; Act 9:4; 1Co 4:10-13; Phi 1:20, Phi 3:10; Col 1:24

so : Luk 2:25; Phi 2:1; 2Th 2:16, 2Th 2:17

TSK: 2Co 1:6

whether : 2Co 1:4, 2Co 4:15-18; 1Co 3:21-23; 2Ti 2:10

it is : Act 21:5

effectual : or, wrought, 2Co 4:17, 2Co 5:5; Rom 5:3-5, Rom 8:28; Phi 1:19; Heb 12:10,Heb 12:11

TSK: 2Co 1:7

our : 2Co 1:14, 2Co 7:9, 2Co 12:20; Phi 1:6, Phi 1:7; 1Th 1:3, 1Th 1:4

as ye : Mat 5:11, Mat 5:12; Luk 22:28-30; Rom 8:17, Rom 8:18; 1Co 10:13; 2Th 1:4-7; 2Ti 2:12; Jam 1:2-4, Jam 1:12

TSK: 2Co 1:8

of our : 2Co 4:7-12; Act 19:23-35; 1Co 15:32, 1Co 16:9

insomuch : 1Co 4:8; 1Sa 20:3, 1Sa 27:1

TSK: 2Co 1:9

sentence : or, answer

that : 2Co 3:5, 2Co 4:7, 2Co 12:7-10; Job 40:14; Psa 22:29, Psa 44:5-7; Pro 28:26; Jer 9:23, Jer 9:24; Jer 17:5-7; Eze 33:13; Luk 18:9

in God : 2Co 4:13, 2Co 4:14; Eze 37:1-14; Rom 4:17-25; Heb 11:19

TSK: 2Co 1:10

1Sa 7:12, 1Sa 17:37; Job 5:17-22; Psa 34:19; Isa 46:3; Act 26:21; 2Ti 4:17; 2Pe 2:9

TSK: 2Co 1:11

helping : 2Co 9:14; Isa 37:4, Isa 62:6, Isa 62:7; Act 12:5; Rom 15:30-32; Eph 6:18, Eph 6:19; Phi 1:19; Col 4:3; 1Th 5:25; 2Th 3:1; Phm 1:22; Heb 13:18; Jam 5:16-18

that : 2Co 4:15, 2Co 9:11, 2Co 9:12

TSK: 2Co 1:12

our rejoicing : Job 13:15, Job 23:10-12, Job 27:5, Job 27:6, 31:1-40; Psa 7:3-5, Psa 44:17-21; Isa 38:3; Act 24:16; Rom 9:1; 1Co 4:4; Gal 6:4; 1Ti 1:5, 1Ti 1:19, 1Ti 1:20; Heb 13:18; 1Pe 3:16, 1Pe 3:21; 1Jo 3:19-22

simplicity : 2Co 11:3; Rom 16:18, Rom 16:19

godly : 2Co 2:17, 2Co 8:8; Jos 24:14; 1Co 5:8; Eph 6:14; Phi 1:10; Tit 2:7

not : 2Co 1:17, 2Co 4:2, 2Co 10:2-4, 2Co 12:15-19; 1Co 2:4, 1Co 2:5, 1Co 2:13, 1Co 15:10; Jam 3:13-18, Jam 4:6

we have : That is, ""We have conducted ourselves;""for αναστρεφω [Strong’ s G390] in Greek, and conversatio in Latin, are used to denote the whole of a man’ s conduct, the tenor and practice of his life.

TSK: 2Co 1:13

than : 2Co 4:2, 2Co 5:11, 2Co 13:6; Phm 1:6

TSK: 2Co 1:14

in part : 2Co 2:5; Rom 11:25; 1Co 11:18

that : 2Co 5:12; 1Co 3:21-23; Phi 1:26 *Gr.

your : That is ""the cause and object of your rejoicing."

even : 2Co 9:2; 1Co 15:31; Phi 2:16 *Gr: Phi 4:1; 1Th 2:19, 1Th 2:20

in the : 1Co 1:8; Phi 1:6, Phi 1:10; 1Th 3:13, 1Th 5:23

TSK: 2Co 1:15

in : 1Co 4:19, 1Co 11:34

that : Rom 1:11, Rom 15:29; Phi 1:25, Phi 1:26

benefit : or, grace, 2Co 6:1

TSK: 2Co 1:16

and to come : Act 19:21, Act 19:22, Act 21:5; 1Co 16:5-7

TSK: 2Co 1:17

lightness : Jdg 9:4; Jer 23:32; Zep 3:4

according : 2Co 1:12, 2Co 10:2, 2Co 10:3; Joh 8:15; Gal 1:16, Gal 2:2; 1Th 2:18

yea : 2Co 1:18-20; Mat 5:37; Jam 5:12

TSK: 2Co 1:18

as : 2Co 1:23, 2Co 11:31; Joh 7:28, Joh 8:26; 1Jo 5:20; Rev 3:7, Rev 3:14

word : or, preaching

TSK: 2Co 1:19

the Son : Psa 2:7; Mat 3:17, Mat 16:16, Mat 16:17, Mat 17:5, Mat 26:63, Mat 26:64, Mat 27:40,Mat 27:54; Mar 1:1; Luk 1:35; Joh 1:34, Joh 1:49, Joh 3:16, Joh 3:35, Joh 3:36, Joh 6:69, Joh 19:7, Joh 20:28, Joh 20:31; Act 8:37, Act 9:20; Rom 1:3, Rom 1:4; 2Pe 1:17; 1Jo 1:3, 1Jo 5:9-13, 1Jo 5:20; 2Jo 1:9; Rev 2:18

even : Act 18:5, Silas

was not : Exo 3:14; Mat 24:35; Joh 8:58; Heb 1:11, Heb 13:8; Rev 1:8, Rev 1:11, Rev 1:17

TSK: 2Co 1:20

all : Gen 3:15, Gen 22:18, Gen 49:10; Psa 72:17; Isa 7:14, Isa 9:6, Isa 9:7; Luk 1:68-74; Joh 1:17, Joh 14:6; Act 3:25, Act 3:26, Act 13:32-39; Rom 6:23, Rom 15:8, Rom 15:9; Gal 3:16-18, Gal 3:22; Heb 6:12-19, Heb 7:6, Heb 9:10-15, Heb 11:13, Heb 11:39, Heb 11:40, Heb 13:8; 1Jo 2:24, 1Jo 2:25, 1Jo 5:11

Amen : Isa 65:16 *Heb: Joh 3:5 *Gr: Rev 3:14

unto : 2Co 4:6, 2Co 4:15; Psa 102:16; Mat 6:13; Luk 2:14; Rom 11:36, Rom 15:7; Eph 1:6, Eph 1:12-14; Eph 2:7, Eph 3:8-10; Col 1:27; 2Th 1:10; 1Pe 1:12; Rev 7:12

TSK: 2Co 1:21

stablisheth : 2Co 5:5; Psa 37:23, Psa 37:24, Psa 87:5, Psa 89:4; Isa 9:7, Isa 49:8, Isa 62:7; Rom 16:25; Col 2:7; 1Th 3:13; 2Th 2:8, 2Th 2:17, 2Th 3:3; 1Pe 5:10

anointed : Psa 45:7; Isa 59:21, Isa 61:1; Joh 3:34; Act 10:38; Rom 8:9; 1Jo 2:20,1Jo 2:27; Rev 1:6, Rev 3:18

TSK: 2Co 1:22

sealed : Joh 6:27; Rom 4:11; Eph 1:13, Eph 1:14, Eph 4:30; 2Ti 2:19; Rev 2:17, Rev 7:3, Rev 9:4

the earnest : 2Co 5:5; Rom 8:9, Rom 8:14-16, Rom 8:23; Eph 1:14

TSK: 2Co 1:23

I call : 2Co 1:18, 2Co 11:11, 2Co 11:31; Rom 1:9, Rom 9:1; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8; 1Th 2:5

that : 2Cor. 2:1-3:18, 2Co 10:2, 2Co 10:6-11, 2Co 12:20, 2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:10; 1Co 4:21, 1Co 5:5; 1Ti 1:20

TSK: 2Co 1:24

that : Mat 23:8-10, Mat 24:49; 1Co 3:5; 2Ti 2:24-26; 1Pe 5:3

are : 2Co 2:1-3; Rom 1:12; Phi 1:25, Phi 1:26

for : 2Co 5:7; Rom 5:2, Rom 11:20; 1Co 15:1; Eph 6:14-16; 1Pe 5:8, 1Pe 5:9

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Co 1:1

Paul an apostle ... - ; see the Rom 1:1 note, and 1Co 1:1 note.

By the will of God - Through, or agreeably to the will of God; note, 1Co 1:1.

And Timothy our brother - Paul was accustomed to associate some other person or persons with him in writing his epistles. Thus, in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Sosthenes was associated with him. For the reasons of this, see the note on 1Co 1:1. The name of Timothy is associated with his in the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians. From the former Epistle to the Corinthians 1Co 16:10, we learn that Paul had sent Timothy to the church at Corinth, or that he expected that he would visit them. Paul had sent him into Macedonia in company with Erastus Act 19:21-22, intending himself to follow them, and expecting that they would visit Achaia. From the passage before us, it appears that Timothy had returned from this expedition, and was now with Paul. The reason why Paul joined Timothy with him in writing this Epistle may have been the following:

(1) Timothy had been recently with them, and they had become acquainted with him, and it was not only natural that he should express his friendly salutations, but his name and influence among them might serve in some degree to confirm what Paul wished to say to them; compare note, 1Co 1:1.

(2) Paul may have wished to give as much influence as possible to Timothy. he designed that he should be his fellow-laborer; and as Timothy was much younger than himself, he doubtless expected that he would survive him, and that he would in some sense succeed him in the care of the churches. He was desirous, therefore, of securing for him all the authority which he could, and of letting it be known that he regarded him as abundantly qualified for the great work with which he was entrusted.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he influence and name of Timothy might be supposed to have weight with the party in the church that had slandered Paul, by accusing him of insincerity or instability in regard to his purposed visit to them. Paul had designed to go to them directly from Ephesus, but he had changed his mind, and the testimony of Timothy might be important to prove that it was done from motives purely conscientious. Timothy was doubtless acquainted with the reasons; and his testimony might meet and rebut a part of the charges against him; see 2Co 1:13-16.

Unto the church of God ... - see the note, 1Co 1:2.

With all the saints which are in all Achaia - Achaia, in the largest sense, included the whole of Greece. Achaia proper, however, was the district or province of which Corinth was the capital. It comprehended the part of Greece lying between Thessaly and the southern part of the Peloponnesus, embracing the whole western part of the Peloponnesus. It is probable that there were not a few Christians scattered in Achaia, and not improbably some small churches that had been established by the labors of Paul or of others. From Rom 16:1, we know that there was a church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth, and it is by no means improbable that there were other churches in that region. Paul doubtless designed that copies of this Epistle should be circulated among them.

Barnes: 2Co 1:2

Grace be to you ... - This is the usual Christian salutation; see the Rom 1:7 note; 1Co 1:3 note.

Barnes: 2Co 1:3

Blessed be God - This is the commencement properly of the Epistle, and it is the language of a heart that is full of joy, and that bursts forth with gratitude in view of mercy. It may have been excited by the recollection that he had formerly written to them, and that during the interval which had elapsed between the time when the former Epistle was written and when this was penned, he had been called to a most severe trial, and that from that trial he had been mercifully delivered. With a heart full of gratitude and joy for this merciful interposition, he commences this Epistle. It is remarked by Doddridge, that 11 out of the 13 epistles of Paul, begin with exclamations of praise, joy, and thanksgiving. Paul had been afflicted, but he had also been favored with remarkable consolations, and it was not unnatural that he should allow himself to give expression to his joy and praise in view of all the mercies which God had conferred on him. This entire passage is one that is exceedingly valuable, as showing that there may be elevated joy in the midst of deep affliction, and as showing what is the reason why God visits his servants with trials. The phrase "blessed be God,"is equivalent to "praised be God;"or is an expression of thanksgiving. It is the usual formula of praise (compare Eph 1:3); and shows his entire confidence in God, and his joy in him, and his gratitude for his mercies. it is one of innumerable instances which show that it is possible and proper to bless God in view of the trials with which he visits his people, and of the consolations which he causes to abound.

The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - God is mentioned here in the relation of the "Father of the Lord Jesus,"doubtless because it was through the Lord Jesus, and him alone, that He had imparted the consolation which he had experienced, 2Co 1:5. Paul knew no other God than the "Father of the Lord Jesus;"he knew no other source of consolation than the gospel; he knew of no way in which God imparted comfort except through his Son. That is genuine Christian consolation which acknowledges the Lord Jesus as the medium by whom it is imparted; that is proper thanksgiving to God which is offered through the Redeemer; that only is the proper acknowledgment of God which recognizes him as the "Father of the Lord Jesus."

The Father of mercies - This is a Hebrew mode of expression, where a noun performs the place of an adjective. and the phrase is synonymous nearly with "merciful Father."The expression has however somewhat more energy and spirit than the simple phrase "merciful Father."The Hebrews used the word "father"often to denote the author, or source of anything; and the idea in phraseology like this is, that mercy proceeds from God, that he is the source of it, and that it is his nature to impart mercy and compassion, as if he originated it; or was the source and fountain of it - sustaining a relation to all true consolation analogous to that which a father sustains to his offspring. God has the paternity of all true joy. It is one of his special and glorious attributes that he thus produces consolation and mercy.

And the God of all comfort - The source of all consolation. Paul delighted, as all should do, to trace all his comforts to God; and Paul, as all Christians have, had sufficient reason to regard God as the source of true consolation. There is no other real source of happiness but God; and he is able abundantly, and willing to impart consolation to his people.

Barnes: 2Co 1:4

Who comforteth us - Paul here doubtless refers primarily to himself and his fellow apostles as having been filled with comfort in their trials; to the support which the promises of God gave; to the influences of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter; and to the hopes of eternal life through the gospel of the Redeemer.

That we may be able to comfort ... - Paul does not say that this was the only design which God had in comforting them that they might be able to impart comfort to others; but he does say that this is an important and main purpose. It is an object which he seeks, that his people in their afflictions should be supported and comforted; and for this purpose he fills the hearts of his ministers with consolation; gives them personal experience of the sustaining power of graco in their trials; and enables them to speak of what they have felt in regard to the consolations of the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

By the comfort ... - By the same topics of consolation; by the same sources of joy which have sustained us. They would have experience; and by that experience they would be able to minister consolation to those who were in any manner afflicted. It is only by personal experience that we are able to impart consolation to others. Paul refers here undoubtedly to the consolations which are produced by the evidence of the pardon of sin, and of acceptance with God, and the hope of eternal life. These consolations abounded in him and his fellow apostles richly; and sustained by them he was able also to impart like consolation to others who were in similar circumstances of trial.

Barnes: 2Co 1:5

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us - As we are called to experience the same sufferings which Christ endured; as we are called to suffer in his cause, and in the promotion of the same object. The sufferings which they endured were in the cause of Christ and his gospel; were endured in endeavoring to advance the same object which Christ sought to promote; and were substantially of the same nature. They arose from opposition, contempt, persecution, trial, and want, and were the same as the Lord Jesus was himself subjected to during the whole of his public life; compare Col 1:24. Thus, Peter says 1Pe 4:13 of Christians that they were "partakers of Christ’ s sufferings."

So our consolation also aboundeth by Christ - By means of Christ, or through Christ, consolation is abundantly imparted to us. Paul regarded the Lord Jesus as the source of consolation, and felt that the comfort which he imparted, or which was imparted through him, was more than sufficient to overbalance all the trials which he endured in this cause. The comforts which he derived from Christ were those, doubtless, which arose from his presence, his supporting grace, from his love shed abroad in the heart; from the success which he gave to his gospel, and from the hope of reward which was held out to him by the Redeemer, as the result of all his sufferings. And it may he observed as an universal truth, that if we suffer in the cause of Christ, if we are persecuted, oppressed, and calumniated on his account, he will take care that cur hearts shall be filled with consolation.

Barnes: 2Co 1:6

And whether we be afflicted - If we are afflicted; or, our affliction is for this purpose. This verse is designed to show one of the reasons of the sufferings which the apostles had endured; and it is a happy specimen of Paul’ s skill in his epistles. He shows that all his trials were for their welfare and would turn to their benefit. He suffered that they might be comforted; he was afflicted for their advantage. This assurance would tend to conciliate their favor, and strengthen their affection for him, as it would show them that he was disinterested. We are under the deepest obligations of gratitude to one who suffers for us; and there is nothing that will bind us more tenderly to anyone than the fact that he has been subjected to great calamity and trial on our account. This is one of the reasons why the Christian feels so tenderly his obligation to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is for your consolation and salvation - It will be useful for your consolation; or it is endured in order to secure your com fort, and promote your salvation. Paul had suffered in Ephesus, and it is to this that he here particularly refers. He does not mean to say that his sufferings there were particularly for the comfort of the Corinthians; but that they had been endured in the general purpose of promoting the salvation of people, and that they, together with others, would reap the benefit of his trials. He endured them in order to spread the true religion, and they would be benefitted by that, and be sides, he would be the better able by his trials to administer to them the true consolations of the gospel in their sufferings; and his example, and experience, and counsel, would enable them to bear up under their own trials in a proper manner.

Which is effectual ... - Margin, "wrought."The Greek word ἐνεργουμένης energoumenēs denotes here "efficacious, operating to, producing;"and the phrase denotes that their salvation would be effected, worked out, or secured by the patient endurance of such sufferings. Those sufferings were necessary; and a patient endurance of them would tend to promote their salvation. The doctrine that the patient endurance of affliction tends to promote salvation, is every where taught in the Bible; see the notes on Rom 5:3-5.

In the enduring - By your enduring; or by your patience in such sufferings. You are called to endure the same kind of sufferings; and patience in such trials will tend to promote your salvation.

Or whether we be comforted ... - One design of our being comforted is, that we may be able to impart consolation to you in the times of similar trial and calamity; see 2Co 1:4. The sentiment of the whole passage is, that their eternal welfare would be promoted by the example of the apostles in their trials, and by the consolations which they would be able to impart as the result of their afflictions.

Barnes: 2Co 1:7

And our hope of you is steadfast - We have a firm and unshaken hope in regard to you; we have a confident expectation that you will be saved. We believe that you will be enabled so to bear trial as to show that you are sustained by the Christian hope; and so as to advance your own piety, and confirm your prospect of heaven.

As ye are partakers of the sufferings - It is evident from this, that the Corinthians had been subjected to trials similar to those which the apostle had endured. It is not known to what afflictions they were then subjected; but it is not improbable that they were exposed to some kind of persecution and opposition. Such trials were common in all the early churches; and they served to unite all the friends of the Redeemer in common bonds, and to make them feel that they were one. They had united sorrows; and they had united joys; and they felt they were tending to the same heaven of glory. United sorrows and united consolations tend more than anything else to bind people together. We always have a "brotherly"feeling for one who suffers as we do; or who has the same kind of joy which we have.

Barnes: 2Co 1:8

For we would not have you ignorant - We wish you to be fully informed; see the notes, 1Co 10:1; 1Co 12:1. The object of Paul here is, to give a full explanation of the nature of his trials, to which he had referred in 2Co 1:4. He presumed that the Corinthians would feel a deep interest in him and in his trials; that they would sympathize with him, and would pray that those sufferings, and that this deliverance might be attended with a blessing 2Co 1:11; and perhaps he wished also to conciliate their kindness toward himself by mentioning more at length the nature of the trials which he had been called to endure on account of the Christian religion, of which they were reaping so material benefits.

Of our trouble which came to us in Asia - The term "Asia"is often used to denote that part of Asia Minor of which Ephesus was the capital; see the note, Act 2:9. There has been considerable diversity of opinion as to the "troubles"to which Paul here refers. Some have supposed that he refers to the persecutions at Lystra Act 14:6, Act 14:19-20, from which he had been recovered as it were by miracle; but as that happened so long before this, it seems improbable that he should here refer to it. There is every mark of freshness and recentness about this event; and Paul evidently referred to some danger from which he had been lately delivered, and which made a deep impression on his mind when he wrote this Epistle. Semler supposes that he refers to the lying in wait of the Jews for him when he was about to go to Macedonia, mentioned in Act 20:3. Most commentators have supposed that be refers to the disturbances which were made at Ephesus by Demetrius and his friends, mentioned in Acts 19, and by reason of which he was compelled to leave the city.

The only objection to this is, that which is mentioned by Whitby and Macknight, that as Paul did not go into the theater there Act 19:31, he incurred no such risk of his life as to justify the strong expressions mentioned in 2Co 1:9-10. They suppose, therefore, that he refers to the danger to which he was exposed in Ephesus on another occasion, when he was compelled to fight there with wild beasts; see 1Co 15:32. But nearly all these opinions may be reconciled, perhaps, by supposing that he refers to the group of calamities to which he had been exposed in Asia, and from which he had just escaped by going to Macedonia - referring perhaps more particularly to the conflict which he had been compelled to have with the wild beasts there. There was the riot excited by Demetrius Acts 19, in which his life had been endangered, and from which he had just escaped; and there had been the conflict with the wild beasts at Ephesus (see the note, 1Co 15:32), which perhaps had occurred but just before; and there were the plots of the Jews against him Act 20:3, from which, also, he had just been delivered. By these trials, his life had been endangered, perhaps, more than once, and he had been called to look death calmly in the face, and to anticipate the probability that he might soon die. Of these trials; of all these trials, he would not have the Corinthians ignorant; but desired that they should be fully apprized of them, that they might sympathize with him, and that through their prayers they might be turned to his benefit.

That we were pressed out of measure - see Acts 19. We were borne down, or weighed down by calamity ( ἐβαρηθεμεν ebarēthemen ) exceedingly καθ ̓ ὑπερβολὴς kath' huperbolēs , supereminently. The expression denotes excess, eminence, or intensity. It is one of Paul’ s common and very strong expressions to denote anything that is intensive or great; see Rom 7:13; Gal 1:13; 2Co 4:17.

Above strength - Beyond our strength. More than in ourselves we were able to bear.

Insomuch that we despaired even of life - Either expecting to be destroyed by the wild beasts with which he had to contend, or to be destroyed by the people. This was one of the instances undoubtedly, to which he refers in 2Co 11:23, where he says he had been "in death oft."And this was one of the many cases in which Paul was called on to contemplate death as near. It was doubtless one cause of his fidelity, and of his great success in his work, that he was thus called to regard death as near at hand, and that, to use the somewhat unpoetical, but deeply affecting lines of Baxter, expressing a sentiment which guided all his ministry, and which was one source of his eminent success,

He preach’ d as though he ne’ er would preach again,

As a dying man to dying men.

Barnes: 2Co 1:9

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves - Margin, "answer."The word rendered "sentence"( ἀπόκριμα apokrima ) means properly an answer, judicial response, or sentence; and is here synonymous with verdict. It means that Paul felt that he was condemned to die; that he felt as if he were under sentence of death and with no hope of acquittal; he was called to contemplate the hour of death as just before him. The words "in ourselves,"mean, against ourselves; or, we expected certainly to die. This seems as if he had been condemned to die, and may either refer to some instance when the popular fury was so great that he felt it was determined he should die; or more probably to a judicial sentence that he should be cast to the wild beasts, with the certain expectation that he would be destroyed, as was always the case with those who were subjected to the execution of such a sentence.

That we should not trust in ourselves - This is an exceedingly beautiful and important sentiment. It teaches that in the time to which Paul refers, he was in so great danger, and had so certain a prospect of death, that he could put no reliance on himself. He felt that he must die; and that human aid was vain. According to every probability he would die; and all that he could do was to cast himself on the protection of that God who had power to save him even then, if he chose, and who, if he did it, would exert power similar to that which is put forth when the dead are raised. The effect, therefore, of the near prospect of death was to lead him to put increased confidence in God. He felt that God only could save him; or that God only could sustain him if he should die. Perhaps also he means to say that the effect of this was to lead him to put increased confidence in God after his deliverance; not to trust in his own plans, or to confide in his own strength; but to feel that all that he had was entirely in the hands of God. This is a common, and a happy effect of the near prospect of death to a Christian; and it is well to contemplate the effect on such a mind as that of Paul in the near prospect of dying, and to see how instinctively then it clings to God. A true Christian in such circumstances will rush to His arms and feel that there he is safe.

But in God which raiseth the dead - Intimating that a rescue in such circumstances would be like raising the dead. It is probable that on this occasion Paul was near dying; that he had given up all hope of life - perhaps, as at Lystra Act 14:19, he was supposed to be dead. He felt, therefore, that he was raised up by the immediate power of God, and regarded it as an exertion of the same power by which the dead are raised. Paul means to intimate that so far as depended on any power of his own, he was dead. He had no power to recover himself, and but for the gracious interposition of God he would have died.

Barnes: 2Co 1:10

Who delivered us from so great a death - From a death so terrible, and from a prospect so alarming. It is intimated here by the word which Paul uses, that the death which he apprehended was one of a character especially terrific - probably a death by wild beasts; note, 2Co 1:8. He was near to death; he had no hope of rescue; and the manner of the death which was threatened was especially frightful. Paul regarded rescue from such a death as a kind of resurrection: and felt that he owed his life to God as if he had raised him from the dead. All deliverance from imminent peril, and from dangerous sickness, whether of ourselves or our friends, should be regarded as a kind of resurrection from the dead. God could with infinite ease have taken away our breath, and it is only by his merciful interposition that we live.

And doth deliver - Continues yet to deliver us; or preserve us - intimating perhaps that danger had continued to follow him after the signal deliverance to which he particularly refers, and that he had continued to be in similar peril of his life. Paul was daily exposed to danger; and was constantly preserved by the good providence of God. In what manner he was rescued from the peril to which he was exposed he has no where intimated. It is implied, however, that it was by a remarkable divine interposition; but whether by miracle, or by the ordinary course of providence, he no where intimates. Whatever was the mode, however, Paul regarded God as the source of the deliverance, and felt that his obligations were due to him as his kind Preserver.

In whom we trust that he will yet deliver us - That he will continue to preserve us. We hope; we are accustomed to cherish the expectation that he will continue to defend us in the perils which we shall yet encounter. Paul felt that he was still exposed to danger. Everywhere he was liable to be persecuted (compare note, Act 20:23), and everywhere he felt that his life was in peril. Yet he had been thus far preserved in a most remarkable manner; and he felt assured that God would continue to interpose in his behalf, until his great purpose in regard to him should be fully accomplished, so that at the close of life he could look to God as his Deliverer, and feel that all along his perilous journey he had been his great Protector.

Barnes: 2Co 1:11

Ye also helping together by prayer for us - Tyndale renders this in connection with the close of the previous verse; "we trust that yet hereafter he will deliver us, by the help of your prayer for us."The word rendered "helping together,"means cooperating, aiding, assisting; and the idea is, that Paul felt that his trials might be turned to good account, and give occasion for thanksgiving; and that this was to be accomplished by the aid of the prayers of his fellow Christians. He felt that the church was one, and that Christians should sympathize with one another. He evinced deep humility and tender regard for the Corinthians when he called on them to aid him by their prayers. Nothing would be better calculated to excite their tender affection and regard than thus to call on them to sympathize with him in his trials, and to pray that those trials might result in thanksgiving throughout the churches.

That for the gift bestowed upon us - The sentence which occurs here is very perplexing in the original, and the construction is difficult. But the main idea is not difficult to he seen. The "gift"here referred to ( τὸ χάρισμα to charisma ) means doubtless the favor shown to him in his rescue from so imminent a peril; and he felt that this was owing to the prayers of many persons on his behalf He believed that he had been remembered in the petitions of his friends and fellow Christians, and that his deliverance was owing to their supplications.

By the means of many persons - Probably meaning that the favor referred to had been imparted by means of the prayers of many individuals who had taken a deep interest in his welfare. But it may also imply perhaps that he had been directly assisted, and had been rescued from the impending danger by the interposition of many friends who had come to his relief. The usual interpretation is, however, that it was by the prayers of many in his behalf.

Thanks may be given by many on our behalf - Many may be induced also to render thanks for my deliverance. The idea is, that as he had been delivered from great peril by the prayers of many persons, it was proper also that thanksgiving should be offered by as many in his behalf, or on account of his deliverance. "Mercies that have been obtained by prayer should be acknowledged by praise"- Doddridge. God had mercifully interposed in answer to the prayers of his people; and it was proper that his mercy should be as extensively acknowledged. Paul was desirous that God should not be forgotten: and that those who had sought his deliverance should render praise to God, perhaps intimating here that those who had obtained mercies by prayer are prone to forget their obligation to return thanks to God for his gracious and merciful interposition.

Barnes: 2Co 1:12

For our rejoicing is this - The source or cause of our rejoicing. "I have a just cause of rejoicing, and it is, that I have endeavored to live a life of simplicity and godly sincerity, and have not been actuated by the principles of worldly wisdom."The connection here is not very obvious, and it is not quite easy to trace it. Most expositors, as Doddridge, Locke, Macknight, Bloomfield, etc., suppose that he mentions the purity of his life as a reason why he had a right to expect their prayers, as he had requested in 2Co 1:11. They would not doubt, it is supposed, that his life had been characterized by great simplicity and sincerity, and would feel, therefore, a deep interest in his welfare, and be disposed to render thanks that be had been preserved in the day of peril. But the whole context and the scope of the passage is rather to be taken into view. Paul had been exposed to death.

He had no hope of life. Then the ground of his rejoicing, and of his confidence, was that he had lived a holy life. He had not been actuated by "fleshly wisdom,"but he had been animated and guided by "the grace of God."His aim had been simple, his purpose holy, and he had the testimony of his conscience that his motives had been right, and he had, therefore, no concern about the result. A good conscience, a holy life through Jesus Christ, will enable a man always to look calmly on death. What has a Christian to fear in death? Paul had kept a good conscience toward all; but he says that he had special and unique joy that he had done it toward the Corinthians. This he says, because many there had accused him of fickleness, and of disregard for their interests. He declares, therefore, that even in the prospect of death he had a consciousness of rectitude toward them, and proceeds to show 2Co 1:13-23 that the charge against him was not well founded. I regard this passage, therefore, as designed to express the fact that Paul, in view of sudden death, had a consciousness of a life of piety, and was comforted with the reflection that he had not been actuated by the "fleshly wisdom"of the world.

The testimony of our conscience - An approving conscience. It does not condemn me on the subject. Though others might accuse him, though his name might be calumniated, yet he had comfort in the approval which his own conscience gave to his course. Paul’ s conscience was enlightened, and its decisions were correct. Whatever others might charge him with he knew what had been the aim and purpose of his life; and the consciousness of upright aims, and of such plans as the "grace of God"would prompt to, sustained him. An approving conscience is of inestimable value when we are calumniated; and when we draw near to death.

That in simplicity - ( ἐν ἁπλότητι en haplotēti .) Tyndale renders this forcibly "without doubleness."The word means sincerity, candor, probity, plain-heartedness, Christian simplicity, frankness, integrity; see 2Co 11:3. It stands opposed to double-dealings and purposes; to deceitful appearances, and crafty plans; to mere policy, and craftiness in accomplishing an object. A man under the influence of this, is straightforward, candid, open, frank; and he expects to accomplish his purpose by integrity and fair-dealing, and not by stratagem and cunning. Policy, craft, artful plans, and deep-laid schemes of deceit belong to the world; simplicity of aim and purpose are the true characteristics of a real Christian.

And godly sincerity - Greek "sincerity of God."This may be a Hebrew idiom, by which the superlative degree is indicated, when, in order to express the highest degree, they added the name of God, as in the phrases "mountains of God,"signifying the highest mountains, or "cedars of God,"denoting lofty cedars. Or it may mean such sincerity as God manifests and approves such as he, by his grace, would produce in the heart; such as the religion of the gospel is suited to produce. The word used here, εἱλικρινεία heilikrineia , and rendered sincerity, denotes. properly, clearness, such as is judged of or discerned in sunshine (from εἵλη heilē and κρίνω krinō ), and thence pureness, integrity. It is most probable that the phrase here denotes that sincerity which God produces and approves; and the sentiment is, that pure religion, the religion of God, produces entire sincerity in the heart. Its purposes and aims are open and manifest, as if seen in the sunshine. The plans of the world are obscure, deceitful, and dark, as if in the night.

Not with fleshly wisdom - Not with the wisdom which is manifested by the people of this world; not by the principles of cunning, and mere policy, and expediency, which often characterize them. The phrase here stands opposed to simplicity and sincerity, to openness and straightforwardness. And Paul means to disclaim for himself, and for his fellow-laborers, all that carnal policy which distinguishes the mere people of the world. And if Paul deemed such policy improper for him, we should deem it improper for us; if he had no plans which he wished to advance by it, we should have none; if he would not employ it in the promotion of good plans, neither should we. It has been the curse of the church and the bane of religion; and it is to this day exerting a withering and blighting influence on the church. The moment that such plans are resorted to, it is proof that the vitality of religion is gone, and any man who feels that his purposes cannot be accomplished but by such carnal policy, should set it down as full demonstration that his plans are wrong, and that his purpose should be abandoned.

But by the grace of God - This phrase stands opposed, evidently, to "fleshly wisdom."It means that Paul had been influenced by such sentiments and principles as would be suggested or prompted by the influence of his grace. Locke renders it, "by the favor of God directing me."God had shown him favor; God had directed him; and he had kept him from the crooked and devious ways of mere worldly policy. The idea seems to be not merely that he had pursued a correct and upright course of life, but that he was indebted for this to the mere grace and favor of God, an idea which Paul omitted no opportunity of acknowledging.

We have had our conversation - We have conducted ourselves ἀναστράφημεν anastraphēmen . The word used here means literally, "to turn up, to overturn"; then "to turn back, to return,"and in the middle voice, "to turn oneself around, to turn oneself to anything, and, also, to move about in, to live in, to be conversant with, to conduct oneself."In this sense it seems to be used here; compare Heb 10:33; Heb 13:18; 1Ti 3:15; 1Pe 1:17. The word "conversation,"we usually apply to oral discourse, but in the Scriptures, it means "conduct,"and the sense of the passage is, that Paul had conducted himself in accordance with the principles of the grace of God, and had been influenced by that.

In the world - Everywhere; whereever I have been. This does not mean in the world as contradistinguished from the church, but in the world at large, or wherever he had been, as contradistinguished from the church at Corinth. It had been his common and universal practice.

And more abundantly to you-ward - Especially toward you. This was added doubtless because there had been charges against him in Corinth, that he had been crafty, cunning, deceitful, and especially that he had deceived them (see 2Co 1:17), in not visiting them as he had promised. He affirms, therefore, that in all things he had acted in the manner to which the grace of God prompted, and that his conduct, in all respects, had been that of entire simplicity and sincerity.

Barnes: 2Co 1:13

For we write none other things ... - There has been much variety in the interpretation of this passage; and much difficulty felt in determining what it means. The sense seems to me to be this. Paul had just declared that he had been actuated by pure intentions and by entire sincerity, and had in all things been influenced by the grace of God. This he had shown everywhere, but more particularly among them at Corinth. That they fully knew. In making this affirmation they had full evidence from what they had known of him in former times that such had been his course of life; and he trusted that they would be able to acknowledge the same thing to the end, and that they would never have any occasion to form a different opinion of him. It will be recollected that it is probable that some at Corinth had charged him with insincerity; and some had accused him of fickleness in having promised to come to Corinth and then changing his mind, or had charged him with never having intended to come to them.

His object in this verse is to refute such slanders, and he says, therefore, that all that he affirmed in his writings about the sincerity and simplicity of his aims, were such as they knew from their past acquaintance with him to be true; and that they knew that he was a man who would keep his promises. It is an instance of a minister who was able to appeal to the people among whom he had lived and labored in regard to the general sincerity and uprightness of his character - such an appeal as every minister ought to be able to make to refute all slanders; and such as he will be able to make successfully, if his life, like that of Paul, is such as to warrant it. Such seems to me to be the sense of the passage. Beza, however, renders it,"I write no other things than what ye read, or may understand,"and so Rosenmuller, Wetstein, Macknight, and some others interpret it; and they explain it as meaning, "I write nothing secretly, nothing ambiguously, but I express myself clearly, openly, plainly, so that I may be read and understood by all."

Macknight supposes that they had charged him with using ambiguous language, that he might afterward interpret it to suit his own purpose. The objection to this is, that Paul never adverts to the obscurity or perspicuity of his own language. It was his conduct that was the main subject on which he was writing, and the connection seems to demand that we understand him as affirming that they had abundant evidence that what he affirmed of his simplicity of aim, and integrity of life, was true. Than what ye read ( ἀναγινώσκετε anaginōskete ). This word properly means to know accurately; to distinguish; and in the New Testament usually to know by reading. Doddridge remarks, that the word is ambiguous, and may signify either to acknowledge, to know, or to read. He regards it as used here in the sense of knowing. It is probably used here in the sense of knowing accurately, or surely; of recognizing from their former acquaintance with him. They would see that the sentiments which he now expressed were such as accorded with his character and uniform course of life. "Or acknowledge"( ἐπιγινώσκετε epiginōskete ). The preposition ἐπί epi in composition here is intensive, and the word denotes to know fully; to receive full knowledge of; to know well; or to recognize. It here means that they would fully recognize, or know entirely to their satisfaction, that the sentiments which he here expressed were such as accorded with his general manner of life. From what they knew of him, they could not but admit that he had been influenced by the principles stated.

And I trust ye shall acknowledge - I trust that my conduct will be such as to convince you always that I am actuated by such principles. I trust you will never witness any departure from them - the language of a man of settled principle, and of fixed aims and honesty of life. An honest man can always use such language respecting himself.

Even to the end - To the end of life; always. "We trust that you will never have occasion to think dishonorably of us; or to reflect on any inconsistency in our behavior"- Doddridge.

Barnes: 2Co 1:14

As also ye have acknowledged us - You have had occasion to admit my singleness of aim, and purity of intention and of life by your former acquaintance with me; and you have cheerfully done it. "In part"( ἀπὸ μέρους apo merous ). Tyndale renders this: "as ye have found us partly."The sense seems to be, "as part of you acknowledge;"meaning that a portion of the church was ready to concede to him the praise of consistency and uprightness, though there was a faction, or a part that denied it.

That we are your rejoicing - That we are your joy, and your boasting. That is, you admit me to be an apostle. You regard me as your teacher, and guide. You recognize my authority, and acknowledge the benefits which you have received through me.

Even as ye also are ours - Or, as you will be our rejoicing in the day when the Lord Jesus shall come to gather his people to himself. Then it will be seen that you were saved by our ministry; and then it will be an occasion of abundant and eternal thanksgiving to God that you were converted by our labors. And as you now regard it as a matter of congratulation and thanksgiving that you have such teachers as we are, so shall we regard it as a matter of congratulation and thanksgiving - as our chief joy - that we were the instruments of saving such a people. The expression implies that there was mutual confidence, mutual love, and mutual cause of rejoicing. It is well when ministers and people have such confidence in each other, and have occasion to regard their connection as a mutual cause of rejoicing and of καύχημα kauchēma or boasting.

Barnes: 2Co 1:15

And in his confidence - In this confidence of my integrity, and that you had this favorable opinion of me, and appreciated the principles of my conduct. I did not doubt that you would receive me kindly, and would give me again the tokens of your affection and regard. In this Paul shows that however some of them might regard him, yet that he had no doubt that the majority of the church there would receive him kindly.

I was minded - I willed ( ἐβουλόμην eboulomēn ); it was my intention.

To come unto you before - Tyndale renders this: "the other time."Paul refers doubtless to the time when he wrote his former Epistle, and when it was his serious purpose, as it was his earnest wish, to visit them again; see 1Co 16:5. In this purpose he had been disappointed, and he now proceeds to state the reasons why he had not visited them as he had purposed, and to show that it did not arise from any fickleness of mind. His purpose had been at first to pass through Corinth on his way to Macedonia, and to remain some time with them; see \caps1 2Co 1:16. c\caps0 ompare 1Co 16:5-6. This purpose he had now changed; and instead of passing through Corinth on his way to Macedonia, he had gone to Macedonia by the way of Troas 2Co 2:12; and the Corinthians having, as it would seem, become acquainted with this fact, had charged him with insincerity in the promise, or fickleness in regard to his plans. Probably it had been said by some of his enemies that he had never intended to visit them.

That ye might have a second benefit - Margin, grace. The word used here χάρις charis is that which is commonly rendered grace, and means probably favor, kindness, good-will, beneficence; and especially favor to the undeserving. Here it is evidently used in the sense of gratification, or pleasure. And the idea is, that they had been formerly gratified and benefitted by his residence among them; he had been the means of conferring important favors on them, and he was desirous of being again with them, in order to gratify them by his presence, and that he might be the means of imparting to them other favors. Paul presumed that his presence with them would be to them a source of pleasure, and that his coming would do them good. It is the language of a man who felt assured that he enjoyed, after all, the confidence of the mass of the church there, and that they would regard his being with them as a favor. He had been with them formerly almost two years. His residence there had been pleasant to them and to him; and had been the occasion of important benefits to them. He did not doubt that it would be so again. Tyndale renders this: "that ye might have had a double pleasure."It may be remarked here that several mss. instead of χάριν charin , "grace,"read χαράν charan , "joy."

Barnes: 2Co 1:16

And to pass by you - Through δι ̓ di' you; that is, through your city, or province; or to take them, as we say, in his way. His design was to pass through Corinth and Achaia on his journey. This was not the direct way from Ephesus to Macedonia. An inspection of a map will show at one view that the direct way was that which he concluded finally to take - that by Troas. Yet he had designed to go out of his way in order to make them a visit; and intended also, perhaps, to make them also a longer visit on his return. The former part of the plan he had been induced to abandon.

Into Macedonia - A part of Greece having Thrace on the north, Thessaly south, Epirus west and the AEgean Sea east; see the note, Act 16:9.

And of you to be brought on my way - By you; see the note, 1Co 16:6.

Toward Judea - His object in going to Judea was to convey the collection for the poor saints which he had been at so much pains to collect throughout the churches of the Gentiles; see the notes, Rom 15:25-26; compare 1Co 16:3-4.

Barnes: 2Co 1:17

When I therefore was thus minded - When I formed this purpose; when I willed this, and expressed this intention.

Did I use lightness? - The word ἐλαφρια elaphria (from ἐλαφρός elaphros ) means properly lightness in weight. Here it is used in reference to the mind; and in a sense similar to our word levity, as denoting lightness of temper or conduct; inconstancy, changeableness, or fickleness. This charge had been probably made that he had made the promise without any due consideration, or without any real purpose of performing, it; or that he had made it in a trifling and thoughtless manner. By the interrogative form here, he sharply denies that it was a purpose formed in a light and trifling manner.

Do I purpose according to the flesh - In such a manner, as may suit my own convenience and carnal interest. Do I form plans adapted only to promote my own ease and gratification, and to be abandoned when they are attended with inconvenience? The phrase "according to the flesh"here seems to mean "in such a way as to promote my own ease and gratification; in a manner such as the people of the world form; such as would be formed under the influence of earthly passions and desires, and to be forsaken when those plans would interfere with such gratifications."Paul denies in a positive manner that he formed such plans; and they should have known enough of his manner of life to be assured that that was not the nature of the schemes which he had devised? Probably no man ever lived who formed his plans of life less for the gratification of the flesh than Paul.

That with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? - There has been a great variety in the interpretation of this passage; see Bloomfield, Critical Digest in loco. The meaning seems to be, "that there should be such inconstancy and uncertainty in my counsels and actions, that no one could depend on me, or know what they had to expect from me."Bloomfield supposes that the phrase is a proverbial one, and denotes a headstrong, self-willed spirit which will either do things, or not do them as pleases, without giving any reasons. He supposes that the repetition of the words "yea and nay"is designed to denote positiveness of assertion - such positiveness as is commonly shown by such persons, as in the phrases, "what I have written I have written,""what I have done I have done."It seems more probable, however, that the phrase is designed to denote the ready compliance which an inconstant and unsettled man is accustomed to make with the wishes of others; his expressing a ready assent to what they propose; falling in with their views; readily making promises; and instantly, through some whim, or caprice, or wish of others, saying "yea, nay,"to the same thing; that is, changing his mind, and altering his purpose without any good reason, or in accordance with any fixed principle or settled rule of action. Paul says that this was not his character. He did not affirm a thing at one time and deny it at another; he did not promise to do a thing one moment and refuse to do it the next.

Barnes: 2Co 1:18

But as God is true - Tyndale renders this in accordance more literally with the Greek, "God is faithful; for our preaching unto you was not yea and nay."The phrase seems to have the form of an oath, or to be a solemn appeal to God as a Witness, and to be equivalent to the expression "the Lord liveth,"or "as the Lord liveth."The idea is,"God is faithful and true. He never deceives; never promises that which he does not perform. So true is it that I am not fickle and changing in my purposes."This idea of the faithfulness of God is the argument which Paul urges why he felt himself bound to be faithful also. That faithful God he regarded as a witness, and to that God he could appeal on the occasion.

Our word - Margin, "preaching"( ὁ λόγος ho logos . This may refer either to his preaching, to his promises of visiting them, or his declarations to them in general on any subject. The particular subject under discussion was the promise which he had made to visit them. But he here seems to make his affirmation general, and to say universally of his promises, and his teaching, and of all his communications to them, whether orally or in writing, that they were not characterized by inconstancy and changeableness. It was not his character to be fickle, unsettled, and vacillating.

Barnes: 2Co 1:19

For the Son of God - In this verse, and the following, Paul states that he felt himself bound to maintain the strictest veracity for two reasons; the one, that Jesus Christ always evinced the strictest veracity 2Co 1:19; the other, God was always true to all the promises that He made 2Co 1:20; and as he felt himself to be the servant of the Saviour and of God, he was bound by the most sacred obligations also to maintain a character irreproachable in regard to veracity on the meaning of the phrase "Son of God,"see the note, Rom 1:4.

Jesus Christ - It is agreed, says Bloomfield, by the best commentators, ancient and modern, that by Jesus Christ is here meant his doctrine. The sense is, that the preaching respecting Jesus Christ, did not represent him as fickle, and changeable; as unsettled, and as unfaithful; but as true, consistent, and faithful. As that had been the regular and constant representation of Paul and his fellow-laborers in regard to the Master whom they served, it was to be inferred that they felt themselves bound sacredly to observe the strictest constancy and veracity.

By us ... - Silvanus, mentioned here, is the same person who in the Acts of the Apostles is called Silas. He was with Paul at Philippi, and was imprisoned there with him Acts 16, and was afterward with Paul and Timothy at Corinth when he first visited that city; Act 18:5. Paul was so much attached to him, and had so much confidence in him, that he joined his name with his own in several of his epistles; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:1.

Was not yea and nay - Our representation of him was not that he was fickle and changeable.

But in him was yea - Was not one thing at one time, and another at another. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. All that he says is true; all the promises that he makes are firm; all his declarations are faithful. Paul may refer to the fact that the Lord Jesus when on earth was eminently characterized by truth. Nothing was more striking than his veracity. He called himself "the truth,"as being eminently true in all his declarations. "I am the way, and the truth, and the life;"Joh 14:6; compare Rev 3:7. And thus Rev 3:14 he is called "the faithful and true witness."In all his life he was eminently distinguished for that. His declarations were simple truth; his narratives were simple, unvarnished, uncolored, unexaggerated statements of what actually occurred. He never disguised the truth; never prevaricated; never had any mental reservation; never deceived; never used any word, or threw in any circumstance, that was suited to lead the mind astray. He himself said that this was the great object which he had in view in coming into the world. "To this end was I born and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth;"Joh 18:37. As Jesus Christ was thus distinguished for simple truth, Paul felt that he was under sacred obligations to imitate him, and always to evince the same inviolable fidelity. The most deeply felt obligation on earth is that which the Christian feels to imitate the Redeemer.

Barnes: 2Co 1:20

For all the promises of God in him - All the promises which God has made through him. This is another reason why Paul felt himself bound to maintain a character of the strictest veracity. The reason was, that God always evinced that; and that since none of His promises failed, he felt himself sacredly bound to imitate Him, and to adhere to all His. The promises of God which are made through Christ, relate to the pardon of sin to the penitent; the sanctification of his people: support in temptation and trial; guidance in perplexity; peace in death, and eternal glory beyond the grave. All of these are made through a Redeemer, and none of these shall fail.

Are yea - Shall all be certainly fulfilled. There shall be no vacillation on the part of God; no fickleness; no abandoning of his gracious intention.

And in him amen - In Rev 3:14, the Lord Jesus is called the "Amen."The word means true, faithful, certain. And the expression here means that all the promises which are made to people through a Redeemer shall be certainly fulfilled. They are promises which are confirmed and established, and which shall by no means fail.

Unto the glory of God by us - Either by us ministers and apostles; or by us who are Christians. The latter, I think, is the meaning; and Paul means to say, that the fulfillment of all the promises which God has made to His people shall result in His glory and praise as a God of condescension and veracity. The fact that He has made such promises is an act that tends to His own glory - since it was of His mere grace that they were made; and the fulfillment of these promises in and through the church, shall also tend to produce elevated views of His fidelity and goodness.

Barnes: 2Co 1:21

Now he which stablisheth us - He who makes us firm ( ὁ βέβαιῶν ἡμᾶς ho bebaiōn hēmas ); that is, he who has confirmed us in the hopes of the gospel, and who gives us grace to be faithful, and firm in our promises. The object of this is to trace all to God, and to prevent the appearance of self-confidence, or of boasting. Paul had dwelt at length on his own fidelity and veracity. He had taken pains to prove that he was not inconstant and fickle-minded. Here he says, that this was not to be traced to himself, or to any native goodness, but was all to be traced to God. It was God who had given them all confident hope in Christ; and it was God who had given him grace to adhere to His promises, and to maintain a character for veracity. The first "us,"in this verse refers probably to Paul himself; the second includes also the Corinthians, as being also anointed and sealed.

And hath anointed us - Us who are Christians. It was customary to anoint kings, prophets, and priests on their entering on their office as a part of the ceremony of inauguration. The word "anoint"is applied to a priest, Exo 28:41; Exo 40:15; to a prophet, 1Ki 19:16; Isa 61:1; to a king, 1Sa 10:1; 1Sa 15:1; 2Sa 2:4; 1Ki 1:34. It is applied often to the Messiah as being set apart, or consecrated to his office as prophet, priest, and king - that is, as appointed by God to the highest office ever held in the world. It is applied also to Christians as being consecrated, or set apart to the service of God by the Holy Spirit - a use of the word which is derived from the sense of consecrating, or setting apart to the service of God. Thus, in 1Jo 2:20, it is said, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One and know all things."So in 1Jo 2:27, "But the anointing which ye have received abideth in you,"etc. The anointing which was used in the consecration of prophets, priests, and kings, seems to have been designed to be emblematic of the influences of the Holy Spirit, who is often represented as poured upon those who are under his influence Pro 1:23; Isa 43:4; Joe 2:28-29; Zec 12:10; Act 10:45, in the same way as water or oil is poured out. And as Christians are everywhere represented as being under the influence of the Holy Spirit, as being those on whom the Holy Spirit is poured, they are represented as "anointed."They are in this manner solemnly set apart, and consecrated to the service of God.

Is God - God has done it. All is to be traced to him. It is not by any native goodness which we have, or any inclination which we have by nature to his service. This is one of the instances which abound so much in the writings of Paul, where he delights to trace all good influences to God.

Barnes: 2Co 1:22

Who hath also sealed us - The word used here (from σφραγίζω sphragizō ) means to seal up; to close and make fast with a seal, or signet; as, e. g., books, letters, etc. that they may not be read. It is also used in the sense of setting a mark on anything, or a seal, to denote that it is genuine, authentic, confirmed, or approved, as when a deed, compact, or agreement is sealed. it is thus made sure; and is confirmed or established. Hence, it is applied to persons, as denoting that they are approved, as in Rev 7:3; "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads;"compare Eze 9:4; see the note, Joh 6:27, were it is said of the Saviour, "for him hath God the Father sealed;"compare Joh 3:33. In a similar manner Christians are said to be sealed; to be sealed by the Holy Spirit Eph 1:13; Eph 4:30; that is, the Holy Spirit is given to them to confirm them as belonging to God. He grants them His Spirit. He renews and sanctifies them. He produces in their hearts those feelings, hopes, and desires which are an evidence that they are approved by God; that they are regarded as his adopted children; that their hope is genuine, and that their redemption and salvation are sure - in the same way as a seal makes a will or an agreement sure. God grants to them His Holy Spirit as the certain pledge that they are His, and shall be approved and saved in the last day. In this there is nothing miraculous, or in the nature of direct revelation. It consists of the ordinary operations of the Spirit on the heart, producing repentance, faith, hope, joy, conformity to God, the love of prayer and praise, and the Christian virtues generally; and these things are the evidences that the Holy Spirit has renewed the heart, and that the Christian is sealed for the day of redemption.

And given the earnest of the Spirit - The word used here ( ἀῤῥαβών arrabōn from the Hebrew צרבון ‛arabown means properly a pledge given to ratify a contract; a part of the price, or purchase money; a first payment; that which confirms the bargain, and which is regarded as a pledge that all the price will be paid. The word occurs in the Septuagint and Hebrew, in Gen 38:17-18; Gen 38:20. In the New Testament it occurs only in this place, and in 2Co 5:5, and Eph 1:14, in each place in the same connection as applied to the Holy Spirit, and his influences on the heart. It refers to those influences as a pledge of the future glories which await Christians in heaven. In regard to the "earnest,"or the part of a price which was paid in a contract, it may be remarked:

(1)    That it was of the same nature as the full price, being regarded as a part of it;

(2)    It was regarded as a pledge or assurance that the full price would be paid. So the "earnest of the Spirit,"denotes that God gives to his people the influences of his Spirit: his operation on the heart as a part or pledge that all the blessings of the covenant of redemption shall be given to them.

And it implies:

(1) That the comforts of the Christian here are of the same nature as they will be in heaven. Heaven will consist of like comforts; of love, and peace, and joy, and purity begun here, and simply expanded there to complete and eternal perfection. The joys of heaven differ only in degree, not in kind, from those of the Christian on earth. That which is begun here is perfected there; and the feelings and views which the Christian has here, if expanded and carried out, would constitute heaven.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 hese comforts, these influences of the Spirit, are a pledge of heaven. They are the security which God gives us that we shall be saved. If we are brought under the renewing influences of the Spirit here; if we are made meek, and humble, and prayerful by his agency; if we are made to partake of the joys which result from pardoned sin; if we are filled with the hope of heaven, it is all produced by the Holy Spirit, and is a pledge, or earnest of our future inheritance; as the first sheaves of a harvest are a pledge of a harvest; or the first payment under a contract a pledge that all will be payed. God thus gives to his people the assurance that they shall be saved; and by this "pledge"makes their title to eternal life sure.

Barnes: 2Co 1:23

Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul - It is well remarked by Rosenmuller, that the second chapter should have commenced here, since there is here a transition in the subject more distinct than where the second chapter is actually made to begin. Here Tyndale commences the second chapter. This verse, with the subsequent statements, is designed to show them the true reason why he had changed his purpose, and had not visited them according to his first proposal. And that reason was not that he was fickle and inconstant; but it was that he apprehended that if he should go to them in their irregular and disorderly state, he would be under a necessity of resorting to harsh measures, and to a severity of discipline that would be alike painful to them and to him. Dr. Paley has shown with great plausibility, if not with moral certainty, that Paul’ s change of purpose about visiting them was made before he wrote his First Epistle; that he had at first resolved to visit them, but that on subsequent reflection, he thought it would be better to try the effect of a faithful letter to them, admonishing them of their errors, and entreating them to exercise proper discipline themselves on the principal offender; that with this feeling he wrote his First Epistle, in which he does not state to them as yet his change of purpose, or the reason of it; but that now after he had written that letter, and after it had had all the effect which he desired, he states the true reason why he had not visited them.

It was now proper to do it; and that reason was, that he desired to spare them the severity of discipline, and had resorted to the more mild and affectionate measure of sending them a letter, and thus not making it necessary personally to administer discipline; see Paley’ s Horae Paulinae, on 2 Corinthians, Numbers 4 and 5. The phrase, "I call God for a record upon my soul,"is in the Greek, "I call God for a witness against my soul."It is a solemn oath, or appeal to God; and implies, that if he did not in that case declare the truth, he desired that God would be a witness against him, and would punish him accordingly. The reason why he made this solemn appeal to God was, the importance of his vindicating his own character before the church, from the charges which had been brought against him.

That to spare you - To avoid the necessity of inflicting punishment on you; of exercising severe and painful discipline. If he went among them in the state of irregularity and disorder which prevailed there, he would feel it to be necessary to exert his authority as an apostle, and remove at once the offending members from the church. He expected to avoid the necessity of these painful acts of discipline, by sending to them a faithful and affectionate epistle, and thus inducing them to reform, and to avoid the necessity of a resort to that which would have been so trying to him and to them. It was not, then, a disregard for them, or a lack of attachment to them, which had led him to change his purpose, but it was the result of tender affection. This cause of the change of his propose, of course, he would not make known to them in his First Epistle, but now that that letter had accomplished all he had desired, it was proper that they should be apprized of the reason why he had resorted to this instead of visiting them personally.

Barnes: 2Co 1:24

Not for that we have dominion ... - The sense of this passage I take to be this: "The course which we have pursued has been chosen not because we wish to lord it over your faith, to control your belief, but because we desired to promote your happiness. Had the former been our object, had we wished to set up a lordship or dominion over you, we should have come to you with our apostolical authority, and in the severity of apostolic discipline. We had power to command obedience, and to control your faith. But we chose not to do it. Our object was to promote your highest happiness. We, therefore, chose the mildest and gentlest manner possible; we did not exercise authority in discipline, we sent an affectionate and tender letter."While the apostles had the right to prescribe the articles of belief, and to propound the doctrines of God, yet they would not do even that in such a manner as to seem to "lord it over God’ s heritage"( οὐκ κυριευομεν ouk kurieuomen ); they did not set up absolute authority, or prescribe the things to be believed in a lordly and imperative manner; nor would they make use of the severity of power to enforce what they taught. They appealed to reason; they employed persuasion; they made use of light and love to accomplish their desires.

Are helpers of your joy - This is our main object, to promote your joy. This object we have pursued in our plans, and in order to secure this. we forbore to come to you, when, if we did come at that time, we should have given occasion perhaps to the charge that we sought to lord it over your faith.

For by faith ye stand - see the note, 1Co 15:1. This seems to be a kind of proverbial expression, stating a general truth, that it was by faith that Christians were to be established or confirmed. The connection here requires us to understand this as a reason why he would not attempt to lord it over their faith; or to exercise dominion over them. That reason was, that thus far they had stood firm, in the main, in the faith 1Co 15:1; they had adhered to the truths of the gospel, and in a special manner now, in yielding obedience to the commands and entreaties of Paul in the First Epistle, they had showed that they were in the faith, and firm in faith. It was not necessary or proper, therefore, for him to attempt to exercise lordship over their belief, but all that was needful was to help forward their joy, for they were firm in the faith. We may observe:

(1) That it is a part of the duty of ministers to help forward the joy of Christians.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 his should be the object even in administering discipline and reproof.

\caps1 (3) i\caps0 f even Paul would not attempt to lord it over the faith of Christians, to establish a domination over their belief, how absurd and wicked is it for uninspired ministers now, for individual ministers, for conferences, conventions, presbyteries, synods, councils, or for the pope, to attempt to establish a spiritual dominion in controlling the faith of people. The great evils in the church have arisen from their attempting to do what Paul would not do; from attempting to establish a dominion which Paul never sought, and which Paul would have abhorred. Faith must be free, and religion must be free, or they cannot exist at all.

Remarks

In view of this chapter we may remark:

1. God is the only true and real Source of comfort in times of trial, 2Co 1:3. It is from Him that all real consolation must come, and he only can meet and sustain the soul when it is borne down with calamity. All persons are subjected to trial, and at some periods of their lives, to severe trial. Sickness is a trial; the death of a friend is a trial; the loss of property or health, disappointment, and reproach, and slander, and poverty, and want, are trials to which we are all more or less exposed. In these trials, it is natural to look to some source of consolation; some way in which they may be borne. Some seek consolation in philosophy, and endeavor to blunt their feelings and destroy their sensibilities, as the ancient stoics did. But "to destroy sensibility is not to produce comfort"- Dr. Mason. Some plunge deep into pleasures, and endeavor to drown their sorrows in the intoxicating draught; but this is not to produce comfort to the soul, even were it possible in such pleasures to forget their sorrows. Such were the ancient Epicureans. Some seek consolation in their surviving friends, and look to them to comfort and sustain the sinking heart. But the arm of an earthly friend is feeble, when God lays His hand upon us. It is only the hand that smites that can heal; only the God that sends the affliction, that can bind up the broken spirit. He is the "Father of mercies,"and He is "the God of all consolation;"and in affliction there is no true comfort except in Him.

2. This consolation in God is derived from many sources:

\tx720 \tx1080 (a)    He is the "Father of mercies,"and we may be assured, therefore, that He does nothing inconsistent with mercy.

(b)    We may be assured that He is right - always right, and that He does nothing but right. We may not be able to see the reason of His actions, but we may have the assurance that it is all right, and will yet be seen to be right.

©    There is comfort in the fact, that our afflictions are ordered by an intelligent Being, by One who is all-wise, and all-knowing.

They are not the result of blind chance; but they are ordered by One who is wise to know what ought to be done; and who is so fair that he will do nothing wrong. There could be no consolation in the feeling that mere chance directed our trials; nor can there be consolation except in the feeling that a being of intelligence and goodness directs and orders all. The true comfort, therefore, is to be found in religion, not in atheism and philosophy.

3. It is possible to bless God in the midst of trials, and as the result of trial. It is possible so clearly to see His hand, and to be so fully satisfied with His wisdom and goodness of His dealings even when we are severely afflicted, as to see that He is worthy of our highest confidence and most exalted praise, 2Co 1:3. God may be seen, then, to be the "Father of mercies;"and He may impart, even then, a consolation which we never experience in the days of prosperity. Some of the purest and most elevated joys known upon earth, are experienced in the very midst of outward calamities, and the most sincere and elevated thanksgivings which are offered to God, are often those which are the result of sanctified afflictions. It is when we are brought out from such trials, where we have experienced the rich consolations and the sustaining power of the gospel, that we are most disposed to say with Paul, "Blessed be God;"and can most clearly see that he is the "Father of mercies."No Christian will ever have occasion to regret the trials through which God has brought him. I never knew a sincere Christian who was not finally benefitted by trials.

4. Christian joy is not apathy, it is comfort; 2Co 1:4-5. It is not insensibility to suffering; it is not stoical indifference. The Christian feels his sufferings as keenly as others. The Lord Jesus was as sensitive to suffering as any one of the human family ever was; he was as susceptible of emotion from reproach, contempt, and scorn, and he as keenly felt the pain of the scourge, the nails, and the cross, as any one could. But there is positive joy, there is true and solid comfort. There is substantial, pure, and elevated happiness. Religion does not blunt the feelings, or destroy the sensibility, but it brings in consolations which enable us to bear our pains, and to endure persecution without complaining. In this, religion differs from all systems of philosophy. The one attempts to blunt and destroy our sensibilities to suffering; the other, while it makes us more delicate and tender in our feelings, gives consolation adapted to that delicate sensibility, and suited to sustain the soul, notwithstanding the acuteness of its sufferings.

5. Ministers of the gospel may expect to be especially tried and afflicted; 2Co 1:5. So it was with Paul and his fellow-apostles; and so it has been since. They are the special objects of the hatred of sinners, as they stand in the way of the sinful pursuits and pleasures of the world; and they are, like their Master, especially hated by the enemy of souls. Besides, they are, by their office, required to minister consolation to others who are afflicted; and it is so ordered in the providence of God, that they are subjected to special trials often, in order that they may be able to impart special consolations. They are to be the examples and the guides of the church of God; and God takes care that they shall be permitted to show by their example, as well as by their preaching, the supporting power of the gospel in times of trial.

6. If we suffer much in the cause of the Redeemer, we may also expect much consolation; 2Co 1:5. Christ will take care that our hearts shall be filled with joy and peace. As our trials in his cause are, so shall our consolations be. If we suffer much, we shall enjoy much; if we are persecuted much, we shall have much support; if our names are cast out among people for his sake, we shall have increasing evidence that they are written in his Book of Life. There are things in the Christian religion which can be learned only in the furnace of affliction; and he who has never been afflicted on account of his attachment to Christ, is a stranger yet to much, very much of the fullness and beauty of that system of religion which has been appointed by the Redeemer, and to much, very much, of the beauty and power of the promises of the Bible. No one will ever understand all the Bible who is not favored with much persecution and many trials.

7. We should be willing to suffer; 2Co 1:3-5. If we are willing to be happy, we should also be willing to suffer. If we desire to be happy in religion, we should be willing to suffer. If we expect to be happy, we should also be willing to endure much. Trials suit us for enjoyment here, as well as for heaven hereafter.

8. One great design of the consolation which is imparted to Christians in the time of affliction is, that they may be able to impart consolation also to others; 2Co 1:4, 2Co 1:6-7. God designs that we should thus be mutual aids. And He comforts a minister in his trials, that he may, by his own experience, be able to minister consolation to the people of his charge he comforts a parent, that he may administer consolation to his children; a friend, that he may comfort a friend. He who attempts to administer consolation should be able to speak from experience: and God, therefore, afflicts and comforts all His people, that they may know how to administer consolation to those with whom they are connected.

9. If we have experienced special consolations ourselves in times of trial, we are under obligations to seek out and comfort others who are afflicted. So Paul felt. We should feel that God has qualified us for this work; and having qualified us for it, that He calls on us to do it. The consolation which God gives in affliction is a rich treasure which we are bound to impart to others; the experience which we have of the true sources of consolation is an inestimable talent which we are to use for the promotion of his glory. No man has a talent for doing more direct good than he who can go to the afflicted, and bear testimony, from his own experience, to the goodness of God. And every one who can testify that God is good, and is able to support the soul in times of trial - and what Christian cannot do it who has ever been afflicted? - should regard himself as favored with a special talent for doing good, and should rejoice in the privilege of using it to the glory of God. For there is no talent more honorable than that of being able to promote the divine glory, to comfort the afflicted, or to be able from personal experience, to testify that God is good - always good. "The power of doing good, always implies an obligation to do it"- Cotton Mather.

10. In this chapter, we have a case of a near contemplation of death. 2Co 1:8-9. Paul expected soon to die. He had the sentence of death in himself. He saw no human probability of escape. He was called, therefore, calmly to look death in the face, and to contemplate it as an event certain and near. Such a condition is deeply interesting, it is the important crisis of life. And yet it is an event which all must soon contemplate. We all, in a short period, each one for himself, must look upon death as certain. and as near to us; as an event in which we are personally interested, and from which we cannot escape. Much as we may turn away from it in health, and unanxious as we may be then in regard to it, yet by no possibility can we long avert our minds from the subject. It is interesting, then, to inquire how Paul felt when he looked at death; how we should feel; and how we actually shall feel when we come to die.

11. A contemplation of death as near and certain, is suited to lead us to trust in God. This was the effect in the case of Paul; 2Co 1:9. He had learned in health to put his trust in Him, and now, when the trial was apparently near, he had no where else to go, and he confided in him alone. He felt that if he was rescued, it could be only by the interposition of God; and that there was none but God who could sustain him if he should die. And what event can there be that is so well fitted to lead us to trust in God as death? And where else can we go in view of that dark hour? For:

(a) We know not what death is. We have not tried it; nor do we know what grace may be necessary for us in those unknown pangs and sufferings; in that deep darkness, and that sad gloom.

(b) Our friends cannot help us then. They will, they must, then, give us the parting hand; and as we enter the shades of the dark valley, they must bid us farewell. The skill of the physician will fall then. Our worldly friends will forsake us when we come to die. They do not love to be in the room of death, and they can give us no consolation if they are there. Our pious friends cannot attend us far in the dark valley. They may pray, and commend us to God, but even they must leave us to die alone. Who but God can attend us? Who but He can support us then?

© Only God knows what is beyond death. How do we know the way to His bar, to His presence, to His heaven? How can we direct our own steps in that dark and unknown world? None but God our Saviour can guide us there; no one else can conduct us to His abode.

(d) None but God can sustain us in the pain, the anguish, the feebleness, the sinking of the powers of body and of mind in that distressing hour. He can uphold us then; and it is an unspeakable privilege to be permitted then, "when heart and flesh faint,"to say of him, "God is the strength of"our "heart, and"our "portion forever;"Psa 73:26.

12. We should regard a restoration from dangerous sickness, and from imminent peril of death as a kind of resurrection. So Paul regarded it; 2Co 1:9. We should remember how easy it would have been for God to have removed us; how rapidly we were tending to the grave; how certainly we should have descended there but for his interposition. We should feel, therefore, that we owe our lives to Him as really and entirely as though we had been raised up from the dead; and that the same kind of power and goodness have been evinced as would have been had God given us life anew. Life is God’ s gift; and every instance of recovery from peril, or from dangerous illness, is as really an interposition of his mercy as though we had been raised up from the dead.

13. We should, in like manner, regard a restoration of our friends from dangerous sickness, or peril of any kind, as a species of resurrection from the dead. When a parent, a husband, a wife or a child has been dangerously ill, Or exposed to some imminent danger, and has been recovered, we cannot but feel that the recovery is entirely owing to the interposition of God. With infinite ease He could have consigned them to the grave; and had He not mercifully interposed, they would have died. As they were originally his gift to us, so we should regard each interposition of that kind as new gift, and receive the recovered and restored friend as a fresh gift from His hand,

14. We should feel that lives thus preserved and thus recovered from danger, belong to God. He has preserved them. In the most absolute sense they belong to Him, and to Him they should be consecrated. So Paul felt; and his whole life shows how entirely he regarded himself as bound to devote a life often preserved in the midst of peril, to the service of his kind Benefactor. There is no claim more absolute than that which God has on those whom He has preserved from dangerous situations, or whom He has raised up from the borders of the grave. All the strength which He has imparted, all the talent, learning, skill, which He has thus preserved, should be regarded in the most absolute sense as His, and should be honestly and entirely consecrated to Him. But for Him we should have died; and He has a right to our services and obedience which is entire, and which should be felt to be perpetual. And it may be added, that the right is not less clear and strong to the service of those whom He keeps without their being exposed to such peril, or raised up from such beds of sickness. Only a very few of the interventions of God on our behalf are seen by us. A small part of the perils to which we may be really exposed are seen. And it is no less owing to His preserving care that we are kept in health, and strength, and in the enjoyment of reason, than it is that we are raised up from dangerous sickness. Man is as much bound to devote himself to God for preserving him from sickness and danger as He is for raising him up when he has been sick, and defending him in danger.

15. We have here an instance of the principle on which Paul acted, 2Co 1:12. In his aims, and in the manner of accomplishing his aims, He was guided only by the principles of simplicity and sincerity, and by the grace of God. He had no sinister and worldly purpose; he had no crooked and subtle policy by which to accomplish his purposes. He sought simply the glory of God and the salvation of man; and he sought this in a manner plain, direct, honest, and straightforward. He admitted none of the principles of worldly policy which have been so often acted on since in the church; he knew nothing of "pious frauds,"which have so often disgraced the professed friends of the Redeemer; he admitted no form of deception and delusion, even for the promotion of objects which were great, and good, and desirable. He knew that all that ought to be done could be accomplished by straightforward and simple-hearted purposes; and that a cause which depended on the carnal and crooked policy of the world was a bad cause; and that such policy would ultimately ruin the best of causes. How happy would it have been if these views had always prevailed in the church!

16. We see the value of a good conscience, 2Co 1:12. Paul had the testimony of an enlightened conscience to the correctness and uprightness of his course of life everywhere. He felt assured that his aims had been right; and that he had endeavored in all simplicity and sincerity to pursue a course of life which such a conscience would approve. Such a testimony, such an approving conscience is of inestimable value. It is worth more than gold, and crowns, and all that the earth can give. When like Paul we are exposed to peril, or trial, or calamity, it matters little, if we have an approving conscience. When like him we are persecuted, it matters little if we have the testimony of our own minds that we have pursued an upright and an honest course of life. When like him we look death in the face, and feel that we "have the sentence of death in ourselves,"of what inestimable value then will be an approving conscience! How unspeakable the consolation if we can look back then on a life spent in conscious integrity; a life spent in endeavoring to promote the glory of God and the salvation of the world!

17. Every Christian should feel himself sacredly bound to maintain a character of veracity, 2Co 1:19-20. Christ was always true to his word; and all that God has promised shall be certainly fulfilled. And as a Christian is a professed follower of him who was "the Amen and the true Witness,"he should feel himself bound by the most sacred obligations to adhere to all his promises, and to fulfill all His word. No man can do any good who is not a man of truth; and in no way can Christians more dishonor their profession, and injure the cause of the Redeemer, than by a lack of character for unimpeachable veracity. If they make promises which are never fulfilled; if they state that as true which is not true; if they overload their narratives with circumstances which had no existence; if they deceive, and defraud others; and if they are so loose in their statements that no one believes them, it is impossible for them to do good in their Christian profession. Every Christian should have - as he easily may have - such a character for veracity that every person shall put implicit confidence in all His promises and statements; so implicit that they shall deem his word as good as an oath; and His promise as certain as though it were secured by notes and bonds in the most solemn manner. The word of a Christian should need no strengthening by oaths and bonds; it should be such that it could really not be strengthened by anything that notes and bonds could add to it.

18. All Christians should regard themselves as consecrated to God, 2Co 1:21. They have been anointed, or set apart to his service. They should feel that they are as really set apart to His service as the ancient prophets, priests, and kings were to their appropriate offices by the ceremony of anointing. They belong to God, and are under every sacred and solemn obligation to live to Him, and Him alone.

19. It is an inestimable privilege to be a Christian, 2Co 1:21-22. It is regarded as a privilege to be an heir to an estate, and to have an assurance that it will be ours. But the Christian has an "earnest,"a pledge that heaven is his. He is anointed by God; he is sealed for heaven. Heaven is his home; and God is giving to him daily evidence in his own experience that he will soon be admitted to its pure and blissful abodes.

20. The joys of the Christian on earth are of the same nature as the joys of heaven. These comforts are an "earnest’ of the future inheritance; a part of that which the Christian is to enjoy forever. His joys on earth are "heaven begun;"and all that is needful to constitute heaven is that these joys should he expanded and perpetuated. There will be no other heaven than that which would be constituted by the expanded joys of a Christian.

21. No one is a Christian, no one is suited for heaven, who has not such principles and joys as being fully expanded and developed would constitute heaven. The joys of heaven are not to be created for us as some new thing; they are not to be such as we have had no foretaste, no conception of; but they are to be such as will be produced of necessity by removing imperfection from the joys and feelings of the believer, and carrying them out without alloy, and without interruption, and without end. The man, therefore, who has such a character, that if fairly developed would not constitute the joys of heaven, is not a Christian. He has no evidence that he has been born again; and all his joys are fancied and delusive.

22. Christians should be careful not to grieve the Holy Spirit; compare Eph 4:30. It is by that Spirit that they are "anointed"and "sealed,"and it is by his influences that they have the "earnest"of their future inheritance. All good influences on their minds proceed from that Spirit; and it should be their high and constant aim not to grieve him. By no course of conduct, by no conversation, by no impure thought, should they drive that Spirit from their minds. All their peace and joy is dependent on their cherishing his sacred influences; and by all the means in their power they should strive to secure his constant agency on their souls.

Poole: 2Co 1:2

This was the apostle’ s common salutation, Rom 1:7 . See Poole on "Rom 1:7" . 1Co 1:3 ; where it is observable, that not the Father only, but the Lord Jesus Christ is invoked, and made the Author of grace, which is the free love of God, and of peace, which signifieth either reconciliation with God upon the free pardon of our sin, or union with men, and brotherly love amongst themselves. The heathens used to begin their epistles with wishing one another health and prosperity; but the apostle hath shown us a more Christian way, and more suited to the faith of Christians, who believe the love and favour of God the greatest and most desirable blessings.

Poole: 2Co 1:3

It is a usual form of thanksgiving, Rom 1:25 9:5 . It is in use with us, signifying our sincere and hearty desire that both we ourselves might be enabled, and others by our examples might be quickened, to speak well of God, and to praise his name. This God is called

the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that is, by eternal generation: he is also called

the Father of mercies because he is the Fountain of all that good which floweth to poor creatures. And upon the same account he is also called

the God of all comfort

Poole: 2Co 1:4

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation; us who are the ministers of the gospel, (as it may appear by what followeth), for the apostle saith, that God doth it, that ministers might, from the comforts wherewith God had comforted them, be able to comfort his people when they are under any trouble, either of body or mind, by the same methods and arguments which the Holy Spirit had used and brought to their minds under trouble to relieve any of them. Two things are observable from this verse:

1. That the apostle attributeth all the support, relief, and comfort, which he had under any tribulation, to God, as the Fountain and Author of all mercy; for though possibly our comforts may be caused from the application of some promises in holy writ, either called to our minds by the act of our own minds, or brought to our remembrance by some others; yet it is God who must make those plasters to stick, and to become healing and sanative to our souls: so that he is the principal efficient cause, though the Scriptures, or men, may be instrumental causes.

2. That the gifts, graces, and mercies that God bestowed upon his ministers, are bestowed upon them, not merely for their own use, but for the use and good of others; to enable them to be serviceable in doing good to others’ souls.

Poole: 2Co 1:5

He calleth his and the other apostles’ sufferings, the sufferings of Christ either because they were sufferings for Christ, that is, for doing the work which Christ had given them to do; or his and their personal sufferings, as members of that body of which Christ is the Head. Christ calleth Saul’ s persecuting the saints, a persecuting of himself, Act 9:4 . Thus we read of Paul’ s filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, Col 1:24 .

So our consolation also aboundeth by Christ but, saith the apostle, blessed be God, as we have many sufferings for Christ, so also we have many consolations by Christ. Christ, as God, is the efficient cause of the saints’ consolation; as Mediator, dying for us, he is the meritorious cause; and it is by his Spirit (who is called the Comforter) that they are applied to us.

Poole: 2Co 1:6

And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation; our sufferings tend to your consolation and salvation your souls being upheld and supported by the sight of our boldness, and courage, and confidence in our sufferings: thus, Phi 1:13,14 : My bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; and many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. And his sufferings also were for their salvation, as they encouraged them to suffer also; and, if we suffer with him, we shall reign with him; and our light and momentary afflictions shall work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2Co 4:17 .

Which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer and (saith the apostle) our suffering hath had a good effect amongst you, while you, with faith and patience, endure sufferings of the same sort which we endure and suffer.

Or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation and if we be supported, upheld, and comforted under our sufferings, the advantage of this also redoundeth to you, as you are encouraged to suffer for the gospel and profession of Christ, from seeing how God supporteth us under our sufferings.

Poole: 2Co 1:7

We have a stedfast hope of you, that as you have endured sufferings for Christ and his gospel, so you will still endure them, as we have done. And we know,

that as you are partakers of the sufferings of Christ and his gospel, so you shall also share in those Divine consolations that those feel who endure such sufferings.

Poole: 2Co 1:8

We are at a great loss to determine what these troubles were in Asia, of which the apostle doth here speak. We read of several troubles Paul met with in Asia: it was there he was in danger through the tumult raised by Demetrius, Act 19:23 . It was there (at Ephesus) where he fought with beasts after the manner of men, as he told us in the former Epistle, 1Co 15:32 . Whoso readeth Act 19:1-41 and Act 20:1-38 , will find the largest account we have in Scripture of the troubles Paul met with in Asia. But this Epistle is thought to have been written at a time that will not agree to the time of those troubles; therefore they are thought to have been some troubles of which we have a mention no where else in holy writ.

We were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: whatsoever they were, this text tells us they were very great, and above his natural strength to have borne; some think, above the strength of ordinary Christians, insomuch that if the apostle had not found the more than ordinary assistances of the Spirit of God, he could not have stood under them.

Poole: 2Co 1:9

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves we verily thought we should have been killed; and so it is expounded by the last words of the former verse,

we despaired even of life And this God did to teach us, that we should, when we are in dangers, look above the creature, and have no confidence in created means, but only look up to him, who

raiseth the dead as Abraham offered up Isaac, Heb 11:17-19 , accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead. Abraham had a promise to bottom such a faith upon; God had told him: That in Isaac his seed should be called: so had Paul, God having revealed to him, that he had a farther work for him to do. So have not all Christians; we do not know our courses, nor what work God hath in his eternal counsels laid out for us, and therefore cannot be confident of deliverances in this life by the Almighty power of God; but yet we, under our greatest trials, may trust in God, who will certainly raise us from the dead; of which faith we have an instance in Job, Job 19:25-27 . However, for our comfort in our distresses we may observe: That God, in his great deliverances of his people, useth to suffer them first to be brought to the greatest extremities; that in the mount of the Lord it may be seen, and that they may learn to know that their salvations are from him; more from his Almighty power, than from the virtue of any means they can use, though yet it be our duty to use what lawful means his providence affordeth us.

Poole: 2Co 1:10

So great a death in this text, signifies no more than so great a trial of affliction; as he elsewhere saith, he was in deaths often, that is, in dangers of death. Nor (saith the apostle) were we only at that time in danger of our lives, nor had we only at that time an experience of God’ s power, goodness, and faithfulness in our deliverance; but we are in jeopardy every hour, and experience the power of God in our deliverance yet every day. And it being for the advantage of the church of Christ, that our lives should be prolonged, (thuogh we desire rather to be dissolved, and to be with Christ), we are confident

that he will yet deliver Former experiences of God’ s goodness in delivering us out of troubles, ought to increase our faith, and beget a confidence in us, that God will yet deliver us, if it may be for his own glory, and our good.

Poole: 2Co 1:11

Ye also helping together by prayer for us: faith ought; not to hinder prayer; nor doth God’ s principal efficiency, as to any mercy or deliverance bestowed upon us, give a supersedeas to us, as to the use of any means, whether natural or spiritual, by which the mercy may be obtained. Nor are the prayers of the meanest saints useless for the greatest, or beneath their desires; men and women’ s favour with God depends not upon their order, station, and repute in the world.

That for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf: by the gift here he means the deliverance before mentioned; which he calls a gift, to denote, not only God’ s principal efficiency in it, but his free bestowing of it: this gift (saith he) is

bestowed by the means of many because obtained upon the intercession or prayers of many. God doth therefore bestow mercies upon particular persons at the intercession of many others on their behalf, that he may not only have the praises of those persons upon whom he so bestoweth the mercy, but of those who have been so praying. The apostle hereby hinteth to us, that we ought no more to forget to give thanks for others, for whom God hath heard us, than to pray for them when in distress.

Poole: 2Co 1:12

He declareth the confidence that he had, that he should not want their prayers, because his own heart told him, to his joy and satisfaction, that however others might reproach him, as if he had carried himself deceitfully, or craftily, yet he had not done so, but had lived in the world in all

simplicity and sincerity of God (so the Greek is). Simplicity is opposed to double-mindedness; where there is a composition in a man, a mixture of truth and falsehood, fairness in speech and falsehood in heart or action. Sincerity is opposed to hypocrisy. It is said to be of God, because he is the God of truth, hath commanded it, approveth it, worketh it, and disposeth the heart of man to it. This is opposed to fleshly wisdom, which prompteth a man to seek his own ends any way, good or bad.

But (saith the apostle) we have had our conversation in the world not by the guidance of any such corrupt habit or principle, but by the grace of God the love and fear of God dwelling in us; or, we have done this, not of ourselves, but by the guidance and assistance of Divine grace, helping us so to live, and to have our conversation in the world.

And more abundantly to you-ward and more especially you are our witnesses of this, amongst whom we have preached the gospel freely, so as we have not made it chargeable to you.

Poole: 2Co 1:13

I do not tell you stories; the things which I write, and which you read, either in my Epistles to you, or to other churches of Christ, are what you know, must own and acknowledge, to be truth; and I hope you shall acknowledge them to be so to the end both of my life and yours.

Poole: 2Co 1:14

In part may either refer to persons or things; part of you have so owned and acknowledged us, though others of you have abused us. Or you have in part, or at some times, owned us, that you had cause to bless God for us, and to rejoice that God ever sent us to preach the gospel amongst you. And as some have owned us as their joy, or all of you have at some times acknowledged us as such, so you are also

our rejoicing we rejoice tllat God hath made our labour successful to your souls, and I trust, in the day when the Lord Jesus shall come to judge the world, you shall be more our rejoicing.

Poole: 2Co 1:15

Being confident that my presence with you would be matter of rejoicing both to you and also to me, I purposed: to come unto you before I went into Macedonia, visiting you shortly in my journey thither, that so you might have, a second longer visit in kindness to you. We find, Act 16:9 , that Paul received his first call into Macedonia in a vision; we read again of his passing through Macedonia to go to Jerusalem: the apostle seemeth to speak here of the latter.

Poole: 2Co 1:16

He had purposed to take Corinth in his way unto Macedonia, and after he had finished his business in Macedonia, his resolutions were to have come back to Corinth, and to stay with them some time, hoping to have some of their company some part of the way toward Judea: but it seems, though he thus purposed, yet God had otherwise ordered his motions.

Poole: 2Co 1:17

When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? Though the apostle doth not in so many words tell us so, yet it is apparent from this verse, that some of the Corinthians had taken occasion from his not coming at this time to Corinth, to charge him with levity and inconstancy, as if his words were not to be regarded. It is very observable, how little things the men of the world will take advantage from, to vilify and lessen the reputation of God’ s faithful ministers and people. How many others might have promised to be in such a place at such a time, and have failed, without the reproach of the men of the world! Who would have been so charitable to them, as to have excused them, by saying: They spake according to their present intentions and resolutions, but they were hindered by the providence of God; but if Paul fails, they will interpret it to be from the lightness and inconstancy of his mind: so charitable is the world to its own; so uncharitable to those who are not of the world, but by God called out of the world. From this imputation the apostle cleareth himself, denying that he used lightness, and that his not coming proceeded from any levity or inconstancy of mind; for he did fully purpose to have come.

Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh? Or (saith he) did I purpose after the manner of carnal men, who make no conscience of their word, who promise and deny both in a breath?

That with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay should there be in me such a spirit as to speak a thing with my lips which my heart doth not agree to? This lets us know, that truth and steadiness are things which do highly commend either a minister or a Christian, but especially him who is a minister of the gospel.

Poole: 2Co 1:18

As God is true to his promises, so he hath taught me to be true to mine. Some make these words not to be merely declarative of the truth of God, but a kind of an oath, or calling the God of truth to witness, that his

word toward them; by which some understand the gospel, or the word which he had preached amongst them (and of that indeed he speaketh in the next verse); but to me it seemeth much less strained, to interpret Paul’ s word, in this verse, of that word of promise of which he had before spoken, the promise which he owned before that he had made them of his coming to them. That

word he saith, was not yea and nay that is, he did not make it with a quite contrary intention; but when he promised, he faithfully intended to have justified his word, and indeed to have come; but the providence of God, to which all men are subjected, had otherwise ordered him and disposed of him; which was the cause why he had not yet been as good as his word. It is very observable, how careful this great apostle was to clear himself from any imputations of levity and falsehood; and it should teach us to be careful to maintain our reputation in the world for truth and steadiness.

Poole: 2Co 1:19

The apostle here glveth a reason why he had made truth and sincerity so much his business (which reason obligeth us also, who are as much bound as he to study a conformity to Christ); saith he:

The Son of God, who was preached among you, that is, Jesus Christ who, though (as some observe) he is in these Epistles no where called God, but Lord, is here called

the Son of God which can be understood in no other sense, than by eternal generation; for those who are only the sons of God by adoption, are not the subjects of ministers’ preaching. We read of this Silvanus 1Th 1:1 1Pe 5:12 : some think that he was the same person who is called Silas, Act 16:19 .

Of

Timothy we have heard before. They were both ministers who (as well as Apollos before mentioned) had laboured in the gospel amongst the Corinthians.

Was not yea and nay, but in him was yea: now (saith the apostle) that Christ, whom both I, and other ministers of the gospel, have preached to you, is not uncertain and unconstant, one thing at one time, and in one place, another thing at another time, and in another place. He was only one and the same; his doctrine was always certain and uniform, and consistent with itself; and our conversation ought to be suitable to him and his doctrine.

Poole: 2Co 1:20

As Christ was yea and all his doctrine certain and uniform, so all the promises of God are yea the promises of the Messiah have their yea and Amen in him; all the promises of grace, whatsoever is promised to believers, shall be verified by him, that so God may be glorified, and have from men the honour of being always esteemed a true and faithful God, one that cannot fail and falsify his word. But how are the promises of God yea and Amen in Christ by us?

Answer. As the ministers of the gospel are the ministers of Christ for the explication and application of them. The promises are from the Father, through Christ as the meritorious cause, and internally applied by the Holy Spirit, while they are more externally applied by the ministers of the gospel.

Poole: 2Co 1:21

The anointing here mentioned is, doubtless, the same mentioned by St. John, 1Jo 2:20,27 , by which is understood the Holy Spirit: so as God’ s anointing his people signifies his giving them his Holy Spirit, to dwell and to work in them; which Holy Spirit diffuseth itself throughout the whole soul of the believer, as the oil of old poured out upon the heads of the kings, high priests, and prophets. Believers are said to be anointed, because God hath, by his Spirit given to them, declared, that he hath set them apart to be kings and priests, a royal priesthood. The same God also establisheth their souls both in faith and love, and all in Christ in him as our Head, and through him as the meritorious cause of all that grace wherein we stand. It is observable, that how much soever vain man may ascribe to the power of man’ s will, yet the blessed apostle attributeth all to God; both our anointing, the first infusion of gracious habits, and also our establishing. It is grace by which we stand.

Poole: 2Co 1:22

The use of a seal is for confirmation of the thing to which it is affixed; the effect of it is the making the impression of itself upon the wax: so as sealing us, both in this and other texts, signifies both the confirmation of the love of God to our souls, and also the renewing and sanctification of our natures, imprinting the image of God upon our souls, making us (as the apostle Peter saith, 2Pe 1:4 ) partakers of the Divine nature; but the first seemeth probably to be most intended here.

And given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts: we have the same expression, 2Co 5:5 Eph 1:14 . We read of the first-fruits of the Spirit, Rom 8:23 . The giving unto believers the Holy Spirit, and those saving spiritual habits which are his effects in the soul, are both the first-fruits and an earnest; for as the first-fruits assured the harvest, and the earnest is a sure pledge of the bargain, when those who give it are honest and faithful; so the sanctifying habits, wrought in the soul by the Spirit of holiness, are a certain pledge of that glory which shall be the portion of believers.

Poole: 2Co 1:23

Here is a perfect form of an oath, which is nothing else but a solemn calling of God to witness the truth of what we speak, whether promising or asserting. Those words,

upon my soul also have the force of an imprecation; but it is in a very serious thing: the apostle was deeply charged with levity, for not making good his promise in coming; and because he reasonably presumed, that some amongst them would be difficult to believe the true cause, to gain credit with them, he takes a voluntary oath, which in weighty matters is lawful (though sometimes it be done not before a magistrate). The thing he thus attests is: That he hitherto had forborne to come out of kindness to them; to

spare them, (as he phraseth it), which may either be understood of their purses, for he could not have gone without some charge to them, though he took no standing salary from them for preaching: or (as others possibly judge better) to spare their persons; for if he had come before they had reformed those abuses that were amongst them, he must (as he before spake) have come unto them with a rod.

Poole: 2Co 1:24

Not for that we have dominion over your faith not (say some) that we pretend or boast of any dominion over you because of your faith, as if upon that account we would be chargeable, and exact monies of you. But their interpretation is better, who think that by these words the apostle removes from himself, and much more from all inferior ministers, any power of imposing upon people to believe any thing, but what God had in his word revealed as the object of faith. He had in the verse before used the phrase spare you, which he thought might sound harsh in their ears, and give some occasion to carp at him, as if he designed some lordly power over them: No, (saith the apostle), though I speak of sparing you, I intend no exercise of lordly power,

but only to promote your joy by removing those things which hinder your true rejoicing. Your present glorying is not good, while these disorders, contrary to the will of God, are amongst you; and you are full of contentions and divisions, which hinder your comfortable society and communion together, as one body.

For by faith ye stand the most of you stand in the faith (so some interpret this). I should rather make this the sense, by faith you must stand; if you err in matters of faith, (as some of this church had done in the business of the resurrection, as the apostle told us in 1Co 15:1-58 ), you fall; you no longer stand than you keep the faith pure and uncorrupt. For, because of their errors as to the resurrection, I cannot tell how to make the apostle’ s sense to be what some learned men make it to bear, that he had nothing to blame in them in matters of faith, but only in some things referring to order; and therefore they need not to suspect his exercise of any dominion over their faith.

Haydock: 2Co 1:1

St. Timothy, it appears, had been sent to Corinth to confirm the faithful in the doctrine which they had received from St. Paul. After he had fulfilled this commission, he returned to St. Paul, and gave him an account how they had behaved, and what good effects his first letter had produced. He styles him brother, to conciliate to him the esteem and respect of the Corinthians. This epistle is not merely addressed to the Corinthians, but to all Achaia, of which Corinth was the capital. (Estius) ---

Others think that Timothy had left Corinth before St. Paul's first epistle had arrived thither; and that this determined St. Paul to send Titus with another disciple thither. See 2 Corinthians xii. 18. From him St. Paul had the consolation to learn the happy effects produced by his first letter. See 2 Corinthians vi. 7. 11.

Haydock: 2Co 1:4

Wherewith we also are exhorted by God. The Latin interpreter sometimes translates the same Greek word by exhorted, sometimes by comforted: so the sense may be, with which we are comforted by God. (Witham) ---

St. Paul knew that his former letter had afflicted them exceedingly; here he comforts them by telling them that God had filled him with consolation in order to comfort them. The Greek rather signifies, by the consolation with which we are comforted. Either explanation is sufficiently clear, though the latter is stronger. We may here remark the great tenderness St. Paul had for the Corinthians, since he here insinuates that he had received comfort from God merely to communicate it to them. (Calmet)

Haydock: 2Co 1:5

St. Paul here styles his own sufferings, the sufferings of Christ, to shew that Christ take part, and suffers in all his members. (St. John Chrysostom) ---

Though it is generally understood to signify the sufferings undergone for Christ. (Estius) ---

If we consider the very intimate union that exists between Jesus Christ, who is the head, and every one of the living members of his body, that is, the Church, that whatever any one suffers, for the cause of truth, Christ is said to suffer, as the Lord said to Saul, why persecutest thou me? and that whatever is given to any indigent brother in the name of a disciple, Christ receives as given to himself, can we want any further proof of the excellence and power of good works, which begin and terminate in charity? (Haydock)

Haydock: 2Co 1:6

Or whether we be exhorted, [1] for your exhortation and salvation. These words are not in the present Greek copies; the omission is not of moment, being in a manner a repetition of what is in the same verse: the sense is, that this happens to us for your instruction, and that you may be exhorted, or comforted by our example. This is also signified by the following words, which makes you bear (literally, which worketh the enduring) the like tribulations, as we suffer. (Witham) ---

Whatever happens to us, it will always be to your advantage. And certainly it is the greatest comfort when the faithful are in affliction, to see their pastors preaching and planting the faith of Christ, in the midst of afflictions and persecutions. This gives them the greatest courage to bear patiently all adversity, being convinced after the example of their divine master, that by many tribulations we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Cajetan)

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In the Greek we only read, Greek: eite de thlibometha, uper tes umon paraklesewos, kai soterias, tes energoumenes en upomone ton auton pathematon, on kai emeis paschomen eite parakaloumetha, uper tes umon parakleseos kai soterias.

Haydock: 2Co 1:8

That we were weary even of life. [2] The Greek seems to imply the condition of one, who knows not what way to turn himself, seeing no prospect to avoid the dangers. (Witham) ---

The sufferings which we underwent in Asia were so great, that we despaired of escaping even with our life. We were in daily expectation of death; like the criminal, who has been condemned to death, we had no hopes of escaping, but we trusted in God, who has delivered us from all danger, by you intercession, ver. 11. He alludes to the tumult raised at Ephesus, and other afflictions which befell him on that account, which, though not mentioned in the Acts, (chap. xix. 24, &c.) were of such nature as to make him weary of life. (St. John Chrysostom)

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Ita ut tæderet nos etiam vivere, Greek: oste exaporethenai. See St. John Chrysostom, Greek: om. B. p. 550.

Haydock: 2Co 1:9

The sentence. Literally, the answer of death, by which death seemed unavoidable; and this God permitted to teach us not to trust, or confide, in ourselves, but in him only, &c. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 1:11

That for this gift, [3] or favour, obtained for us by many persons, &c. The words and construction are obscure, both in the Latin and Greek. It would seem a tautology if translated, that by may persons thanks may be rendered by many. Therefore the sense must be, that God must now be thanked by many persons for the benefit in preserving my life, and hearing the prayers of many persons, who before had prayed for my life. (Witham) ---

St. Paul in soliciting the prayers of the Corinthians, did not suppose that this was derogatory to Christ's mediation, nor to the hope he had in God. And can it be more dishonourable to God to solicit the aid of saints in heaven than of sinners on earth? Or is it to be supposed, asks St. Jerome, that the intercession of our fellow-men beneath, is more available with God, than the prayers of those, who enjoy the beatific vision above. (Cont. Vigil.)

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Ut ex multorum personis, ejus, quæ in nobis est donationis, per multos gratiæ agantur pro nobis. The Greek is clearer, Greek: ina ek pollon prosopo, ton eis emas charisma, dia pollon eucharistethe uper emon.

Haydock: 2Co 1:12

And sincerity of God, [4] which, according to the style of the Scriptures, seems the same as in great sincerity. ---

In the grace of God. and more abundantly towards you: the sense seems to be, that God had wrought more wonders and miracles by him for their conversion, that in other places. (Witham) ---

The apostle here indirectly attacks the false teachers, by saying that his doctrine was always the same, in one continued path of sincerity, and that he made no use of the wisdom of this world, like those false doctors, whose whole design was to insinuate themselves into the affections of the Corinthians by speaking what they knew would be agreeable to them. (Estius) ---

He declares that the subject of his glory was, the testimony his own conscience afforded him of having uniformly acted in their regard with sincerity and truth.

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Sinceritate Dei, Greek: eilikrineia Theou, so montes Dei, i.e. magni.

Haydock: 2Co 1:13

What you have read, in my former letter, or letters, and known by my preaching: this he says, to clear himself from the accusation of his adversaries, that his words, preaching, and promises were not to be regarded, saying different things at different times, and promising to come to them, which he had not done. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 1:17

When, therefore, I had a mind, and purposed to come to you, did I use levity? was it an effect of levity, of a fickle mind, and of a want of sincerity? or do I purpose and promise things according to the flesh, to human motives and interest, which make me say, and unsay again, so that in me is yes and no? (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 1:18

But God is faithful: The sense seems to be, as God is faithful, or I appeal to God, who is faithful, that in what I have preached to you, there is not yes and no; my doctrine concerning the faith in Jesus Christ, is and was always the same. Whether I, or Silvanus, or Timothy preached the Son of God, that is, what we taught concerning the Son of God, was not yes and no, was not first one thing, and then another; but in him was yes only, that is, in him, and his doctrine, which we have taught, all is yes, firm, and unchangeable. ---

And all the promises of God, of sanctification and salvation, made to us in him, by his merits and grace, are equally yes, certain, and infallible; and therefore by him, and his promises are Amen to God, must needs be true, unto our glory, will turn to the salvation and glory of his elect in heaven. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 1:19

It is, was in him. There was no inconstancy in the doctrine of the apostles, sometimes, like modern sectaries, saying, It is, and at other times saying, It is not. But their doctrine was ever the same, one uniform yea, is Jesus Christ, one Amen, that is, one truth in him. (Challoner)

Haydock: 2Co 1:20

The doctrine which the apostle delivered to them was not ambiguous, doubtful, or contradictory, first one thing, then another; on the contrary, it was such, that the apostle could say, (ver. 14.) we are your glory. ---

Amen. All the promises made by God, with regard to Christ, are fulfilled in him; therefore we may say Amen, and give glory to God, through Jesus Christ, who hath fulfilled all his promises. (Calmet) ---

One of the distinctive marks, as the holy fathers affirm, between separatists and Catholics is; the former are fond of innovation, changes, and reform, the latter are scrupulously tenacious of what has been delivered from the beginning. See St. Irenæus, lib. i. chap. 18.; Tertullian, de præscript.; St. Basil, ep. 12. Vine: Lyr. See also Les Variations, by Bossuet.

Haydock: 2Co 1:21-22

This must needs be true, because he is God, who hath confirmed us with you, both us and you in Christ, in the faith, and grace of Christ crucified, who hath anointed us with divine graces, who hath sealed us, as it were, by an indelible character, in the sacraments of baptism, and confirmation, and ordination, when we were made ministers of Christ, who in this manner hath given the pledge [5] of his holy Spirit in our hearts, a sufficient pledge and earnest of his graces in this life, and of the glory he has prepared for us in the next. (Witham) ---

By these texts, and Ephesians iv., the Catholic Church teaches, that we are anointed and consecrated to the service of God, and sealed with a spiritual and distinctive mark, called by divines, a character, (see St. Jerome in Ephesians iv.; St. Cyril, cateches. 17.) which, as it is indelible, can never be iterated. The same is true of confirmation, and holy orders. See St. Augustine, cont. Parm. chap. xiii. & Conc. Tarrac. chap. vi.

Haydock: 2Co 1:22

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Pignus spiritus, Greek: ton arrabona. That by receiving the earnest, says St. John Chrysostom, p. 662, you may be assured to receive the whole.

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Haydock: 2Co 1:23

Now as to my not coming to you, I call God to witness, that I only deferred my coming out of kindness to you, that I came not hitherto to Corinth, to spare you, when by reason of the disorders among you, I must have been forced to use severities against those who were not yet reformed. ---

Not that we lord it over your faith, nor desire to treat God's faithful with severity, or by shewing the power that God hath given us: but we rather desire to be helpers and promoters of your joy, that we may rejoice together with you in God. And now I have this greatest comfort to hear that you stand steadfast and firm in the faith of Christ. (Witham)

Gill: 2Co 1:1

Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,.... The inscription of this epistle is pretty much the same with that of the former; only whereas here he styles himself an apostle of Jesus Christ, there he says he was "called" to be one: for he did not assume that character and office without the call of Christ, and will of God; and which he chooses to mention, in opposition to the false apostles, who had neither. Likewise, in the inscription of the former epistle Sosthenes is joined with him; in this Timothy, whom he calls

our brother, not so much on account of his being a partaker of the same grace, as for his being a minister of the same Gospel: and he the rather mentions him, because he had sent him to them, to know their state, and was now returned to him with an account of it, and who joined and agreed with him in the substance of this epistle. Moreover, the former epistle is directed as "unto the church of God which is at Corinth"; so to all that call upon the name of Christ in every place; and this is directed also to the same church, together

with all the saints which are in all Achaia; which was a very considerable part of Greece, and of which Corinth was the metropolis: and the apostle's intention in directing it in this form was, that copies of this letter might be sent to them, who equally, with this church, stood in need of the reproofs, exhortations, and instructions which are in it.

Gill: 2Co 1:2

Grace be to you,.... This salutation is the same with that in the former epistle, and is common to all his epistles; See Gill on Rom 1:7.

Gill: 2Co 1:3

Blessed be God,.... This is an ascription of praise and glory to God, for he can only be blessed of men, by their praising and glorifying him, or by ascribing honour and blessing to him: and in this form of blessing him he is described, first by his relation to Christ,

even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: whose Son Christ is, not by creation, as angels and men, nor by adoption, as saints, but in such a way of filiation, as no creatures are, or possibly can be: he is his only begotten Son, his own proper Son, his natural and eternal Son, is of the same nature with him, and equal to him in perfections, power, and glory. This is rightly prefaced by the apostle to the other following characters, since there is no mercy nor comfort administered to the sons of men but through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour of sinners. And next he is described by his attribute of mercy, and the effects of it, or by his merciful disposition to his creatures,

the Father of mercies. The Jews frequently address God in their prayers ^a under the title or character of, אב הרחמים, "Father of mercies". The plural number is used, partly to show that God is exceeding merciful; he delights in showing mercy to poor miserable creatures, and is rich and plenteous in the exercise of it: nothing is more common in the Talmudic writings, than to call him רחמנא, "the merciful", and this is partly to express the multitude of his tender mercies, of which he is the "Father", author, and giver, both in a temporal, and spiritual sense; for there are not only innumerable providential mercies which the people of God share in, and partake of, but also a multitude of spiritual mercies. Such as redemption by Christ, pardon of sin through his blood, regeneration by his Spirit, supplies of grace out of his fulness, and the word and ordinances; all which are owing to the mercy of God, which they have abundant reason to be thankful to him, and bless him for, being altogether unworthy and undeserving of them. God is also described by his work of comforting the saints,

and the God of all comfort; most rightly is this character given him, for there is no solid comfort but what comes from him; there is none to be had in, and from the creatures; and whatever is had through them it is from him: and all spiritual comfort is of him; whatever consolation the saints enjoy they have it from God, the Father of Christ, and who is their covenant God and Father in Christ; and the consolation they have from him through Christ in a covenant way is not small, and for which they have great reason to bless the Lord, as the apostle here does; for it is from him that Christ, the consolation of Israel, and the Spirit, the Comforter, come, and whatever is enjoyed by the Gospel.

Gill: 2Co 1:4

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,.... The apostle in this verse gives a reason of the former thanksgiving, and at the same time confirms the above character of God, as "the God of all comfort", by his own experience, and that of his fellow ministers; who, though they had been in great tribulation and affliction for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel, yet were not left destitute of divine help and support under their trials; but had much consolation and sweet refreshment administered to them by the presence of God with them, the application of his promises to them, the shedding abroad of his love in them, and the fellowship and communion they enjoyed with Father, Son, and Spirit. The end of this, or why God was pleased to comfort them in such a manner, was not so much on their own account; though it showed that they were loved, and not hated and rejected of God, but for the good of others:

that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God; many are the troubles and afflictions of the saints in this life, but it is the will of God that they should be comforted: and the persons he employs and makes use of in this way are his ministering servants, whose principal work and business it is to speak comfortably to the people of God; see Isa 40:1, and that they may be able to do so, that they may be fitted and furnished for so good a work, they are blessed with a rich experience of divine consolation in themselves, under the various troubles and exercises they are attended with in the course of their ministry; and such persons are, of all others, the fittest, and indeed the only proper persons to speak a word in season to weary souls.

Gill: 2Co 1:5

For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us,.... By "the sufferings of Christ" are not meant those which he suffered in his own person for the sake, and in the room and stead of his people, the fruits and effects of which abound to them, and in them; but those which he suffers in his members, or which they suffer for his sake; and which are said to "abound in" them, because of the variety and greatness of them; though not as if they were more or greater than what Christ suffered in his soul and body, when he was made sin and a curse for his people: yet notwithstanding the abundance of them, such is the goodness and grace of God, that he proportions comforts to them; as their afflictions increase, so do their comforts; as their sufferings for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel, are more and greater,

so, says he,

our consolation aboundeth by Christ: meaning, either that consolation which they felt and enjoyed in their own souls, under all their tribulations, which abundantly answered to them, and which they ascribe to Christ, from and by whom it comes to them; or else that consolation, which, by preaching Christ, abounded to the relief of others who were in distress and trouble.

Gill: 2Co 1:6

And whether we be afflicted it is for your consolation,.... The apostle repeats and explains the end of both his comforts and his troubles, and shows, by a dilemma, a strong way of arguing, that the afflictions and consolations, the adversity and prosperity of him, and the other ministers of the Gospel, were for the good of the saints: and it is as if he should say, when you see us continue to preach the Gospel with so much boldness and cheerfulness, amidst so many reproaches, afflictions, and persecutions, you must be the more established in the faith, and confirmed in the truth of the Gospel; and this cannot fail of ministering much peace, satisfaction, and comfort to your minds. This animates you to hold fast the rejoicing of your hope, and the profession of your faith firm unto the end; and with the greater cheerfulness and pleasure meet with, and endure afflictions yourselves for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel: nay, he says, that the afflictions of Christ's ministers were not only for their consolation, but also for their

salvation, which is effectual, or is effectually wrought

in, or by

the enduring, patient bearing,

of the same sufferings which we also suffer. Not that the afflictions of the saints, or of others, and their patient enduring of them, are the cause of their salvation; for Christ is only the efficient cause, he is the sole author of spiritual and eternal salvation; but these are means the Spirit of God makes use of, as he does of the word and ordinances, to bring the saints to a satisfaction as to their interest in it, and are the ordinary way in which they are brought to the possession of it.

Or whether we be comforted it is for your consolation and salvation: for whatsoever comfort God is pleased to communicate to us, it is not kept in our breasts, and for our own use, but we immediately and readily impart it to you, that you may share with us the advantage of it, and be comforted together with us; that your faith in the doctrine of salvation may be established, your hope of it increased, and that you may be more comfortably assured you are in the way to it, and shall enjoy it.

Gill: 2Co 1:7

For our hope of you is steadfast,.... We have long ago entertained hopes of you, that the work of God is begun upon your souls, and will be carried on, and that you will hold on in the profession of your faith unto the end, and not be moved by the afflictions you see in us, or endure in yourselves; and so will pass on cheerfully in your Christian race, in the midst of all your troubles, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God, you may expect to be possessed of; and this hope, for or concerning you, continues with us firm and immovable.

Knowing, which may refer either to the Corinthians; so the Arabic version, "be ye knowing", or "know ye"; you may, or should know; this you may assure yourselves of: or to the apostle and other ministers; so the Syriac version, ידעינן, "we know", we are persuaded of the truth of this,

that as you are partakers of the sufferings; that is, of Christ, and the same which we also suffer for him:

so shall ye be; or rather, "so you are also of the consolation"; for the apostle seems to respect not future happiness and glory, in which, as there will be no afflictions and troubles, so no comfort under them, but present consolation, which the saints enjoy here as a pledge and earnest of that fulness of joy which they shall have with Christ for evermore.

Gill: 2Co 1:8

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble,.... The apostle was very desirous that the Corinthians might be thoroughly acquainted with the trouble that had lately befallen them; partly because it would clearly appear from hence what reason he had to give thanks to God as he had done; and partly, that they might be encouraged to trust in God, when in the utmost extremity; but chiefly in order to remove a charge brought against him by the false apostles; who, because he had promised to come to Corinth, and as yet had not come, accused him of lightness and inconstancy, in as much as he had not kept his promise. Now to show that it was not owing to any such temper and disposition of mind in him, he would have them know, that though he sincerely intended a journey to them, yet was hindered from pursuing it, by a very great affliction which befell him: the place where this sore trouble came upon him, is expressed to be in Asia: some have thought it refers to all the troubles he met with in Asia, for the space of three years, whereby he was detained longer than he expected; but it seems as though some single affliction is here particularly designed: many interpreters have been of opinion, that the tumult raised by Demetrius at Ephesus is here meant, when Paul and his companions were in great danger of their lives, Act 19:21, but this uproar being but for a day, could not be a reason why, as yet, he had not come to Corinth: it seems rather to be some other very sore affliction, and which lasted longer, that is not recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: the greatness of this trouble is set forth in very strong expressions,

as that we were pressed out of measure. The affliction was as an heavy burden upon them, too heavy to bear; it was exceeding heavy, καθ' υπερβολην, even to an "hyperbole", beyond expression; and

above strength, that is, above human strength, the strength of nature; and so the Syriac renders it, מן חילן, "above our strength"; but not above the strength of grace, or that spiritual strength communicated to them, by which they were supported under it: the apostle adds,

insomuch that we despaired even of life; they were at the utmost loss, and in the greatest perplexity how to escape the danger of life; they greatly doubted of it; they saw no probability nor possibility, humanly speaking, of preserving it.

Gill: 2Co 1:9

But we had the sentence of death in ourselves,.... By the sentence of death is meant, not any decree of heaven, or appointment of God that they should die; nor any sentence of condemnation and death passed on them by the civil magistrate; but an opinion or persuasion in their own breasts, that they should die; so far were they from any hopes of life, that they looked upon themselves as dead men, as the Egyptians did, when their firstborn were slain, and said, "we be all dead men", Exo 12:33, and to this extremity they were suffered to be brought by the wise counsel of God, for the following purposes, to learn to lay aside all self-trust and confidence:

that we should not trust in ourselves; in our strength, wisdom, and policy, to make our escape, and preserve our lives; and also to teach and encourage them to trust in God alone, and depend on his arm, on his almighty power:

but in God which raiseth the dead; who will raise the dead at the last day, and so is able to deliver persons when they are in the most distressed condition, and in their own opinion as dead men.

Gill: 2Co 1:10

Who delivered us from so great a death,.... Accordingly, being enabled to trust in God, when all human hope and helps failed, to believe in hope against hope, then the Lord appeared for them, and delivered them from this heavy affliction; which, because by reason of it they were not only in danger of death, and threatened with, but were even under the sentence of it, is therefore called a death, and so great an one, see 2Co 11:23. The apostle expresses the continuance of the mercy,

and doth deliver; which shows that they were still exposed to deaths and dangers, but were wonderfully preserved by the power of God, which gave great encouragement to them to hope and believe that God would still preserve them for further usefulness. The Alexandrian copy leaves out this clause, and so does the Syriac version.

In whom we trust that he will yet deliver us; all the three tenses, past, present, and future, are mentioned, which shows that an abiding sense of past and present deliverances serves greatly to animate faith in expectation of future ones.

Gill: 2Co 1:11

You also helping together by prayer for us,.... Though the apostle ascribes their deliverance solely to God, as the author and efficient cause of it; yet he takes notice of the prayers of the saints for them, as helping causes or means of their obtaining it. It was a very laudable practice in the churches, and worthy of imitation, to pray for the ministers of the Gospel, and especially when under affliction and persecution; see Act 12:5, and the prayers of those righteous ones were heard by God, and often effectual for the deliverance of them, as they were in the present case: for

by the means of many persons, who wrestled together in prayer with God,

the gift of deliverance from so great a death, which the apostle looked upon as a wonderful mercy, χαρισμα, "a free grace gift", was "bestowed upon" them, which was granted for this end,

that thanks may be given by many on our behalf; which is but reasonable, and ought to be observed; for since many were concerned in asking for, and obtaining the mercy, they ought to join in thanksgiving for it: and the apostle's view in this is to stir them up to a joint acknowledgment of the deliverance with them, which better became them than to side with the false apostles in their charge against him.

Gill: 2Co 1:12

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience,.... This rejoicing or glorying of the apostle's in the testimony of their consciences, to the goodness of their hearts, actions, conduct, and behaviour, was not before God, and in his sight, but before men, who were ready to accuse their good conversation in Christ: nor are these words to be considered as they generally are by interpreters, as if it was the testimony of a good conscience, which was the ground of their faith and confidence, that God would deliver them, and was an helping cause, together with the prayers of the saints, of their present deliverance. They refer to the charge exhibited against the apostle, that he had falsified his word in not coming to Corinth according to his promise; under which charge he could sit easy, having a witness within him, which was better than a thousand others, that

we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-wards; the Corinthians, of which they themselves must be conscious:

in simplicity; in opposition to double mindedness; they did not say one thing, and mean another, and act contrary to both; their heart and mouth went together, and their conduct agreed with both; what they promised they meant to perform; and where there was a want of performance, it was owing to intervening providences, which hindered, and not to any deceitfulness in them: the conscience of the apostle bore him witness, that he behaved in the simplicity and singleness of his heart; and also in

godly sincerity, or "in the sincerity of God"; that is, such as God requires, gives, and approves of, and which will stand in his sight, will bear his examination, and to which he gives his testimony; and that his conduct was

not influenced

with fleshly wisdom: he used no artful sophistical methods to impose upon, and delude persons, for any sinister ends, or worldly advantage:

but by the grace of God; which was bestowed upon him, implanted in him, and which taught him to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this world.

Gill: 2Co 1:13

For we write none other things to you,.... The things we write unto you concerning our conduct; and behaviour, are no other

than what you read; not in our letters to you, but in our lives and conversations, when we were among you, and which you must own and acknowledge to be just and right; we can appeal to you, that what we say, and are obliged to say of ourselves, in our own defence, is what, upon a recollection, you will easily remember to have seen and observed:

and I trust; or "hope", through the grace of God, we shall be enabled so to walk, as that

you shall acknowledge even to the end; that our conversations are as become the Gospel of Christ, and are clear of that hypocrisy and deceit our adversaries would insinuate concerning us.

Gill: 2Co 1:14

As also you have acknowledged us in part,.... This may refer either to the thing known and acknowledged, namely, the integrity of the apostle's conversation, and others; which though they did not know thoroughly and perfectly, yet did in part, and that so far as that they might acquit them from the charge brought against them; or to the persons who knew this, as that there were some in the church of Corinth, a part of them, though not all, who knew and had acknowledged them to be upright and sincere ministers of the word, and had declared that they had reason to rejoice and bless God that ever they heard them: and

that we are your rejoicing: or "glorying in", or "unto the day of the Lord Jesus": when he shall come to judge the world in righteousness, then they should before him, angels and men, rejoice and glory in this, that they had been blessed with such sincere and faithful ministers, who sought not any worldly advantage, but the glory of Christ, and the salvation of souls:

even as, adds the apostle,

ye also are ours; we do now, and so we shall then, rejoice and glory in this, that our labour among you was not in vain, but was blessed for your conversion and edification.

Gill: 2Co 1:15

And in this confidence I was minded,.... Being fully persuaded of your affection for me, as having been instrumental in the conversion of many of you, and of your esteem of me as a faithful and upright minister of the word, and of your being my rejoicing in the day of Christ, I was desirous, and had determined, and so promised,

to come to you before; when I sent my first epistle to you, or before now, or before I went into Macedonia; and what I now say was the sincere intention of my mind; I thought really to have done what I had such an inclination to: and my view in it was,

that you might have a second benefit; the meaning of which according to some is, first by his letter to them, and then by his presence with them; or as others, one benefit when he should pass by them to Macedonia, and a second, when he should return to them from thence, according to the following verse; or rather, as the first benefit which they received from him, and under his ministry, was their conversion, so this second benefit may design their edification, and establishment in the faith, their growth in grace, and improvement in spiritual knowledge.

Gill: 2Co 1:16

And to pass by you into Macedonia,.... It was his first intention and determination to have come first to Corinth, and then to Macedonia, to have took this city in his way thither; which was an argument of his love to them, and his great desire to see them; since he might have gone, as he did, a nearer way to Macedonia, than by Corinth:

and to come again out of Macedonia to you; when he had gone through that, and done his business there unto the Corinthians; and after some stay with them,

of you to be brought on my way towards Judea; where he intended to go, with the collections he had made for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in the several churches in Asia; but though this was his first resolution, which he had signified either by letter, or messengers, yet he afterwards changed his mind, for some reasons within himself; it may be, having heard some things disagreeable of them, which he thought more convenient to acquaint them with in an epistle first, and to try what effect that would have upon them, before he came in person: that he changed his mind, appears from the former epistle, 1Co 16:5, where he says, "I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia"; and upon this account it is he excuses and vindicates himself in the following verse.

Gill: 2Co 1:17

When I was therefore thus minded, did I use lightness?.... When I had thus determined to come to you, and had signified the same by writing, or messengers, did I use lightness in my resolutions and promises? did I act rashly, unadvisedly, and without consideration? did I promise certainly that I would come, without annexing any condition to it? did I not say, I would come to you shortly, if the Lord will? see 1Co 4:19.

Or the things that I purpose, do l purpose according to the flesh? do I consult myself? my own interest and advantage? do I seek the gratification of any carnal affection, as covetousness, ambition, or vain glory? &c. what sinister end could have been obtained, if I had come as I purposed, or is answered by my not coming? or when I have purposed anything, have I resolved upon it in my own strength? have I thought it lay in my own power to effect it?

that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay? as if I could make my "yea" continue "yea", and my "nay, nay?" when all actions are weighed by God, and all events are at his dispose; man appoints, and God disappoints; and who can help these things? or thus, has there appeared such contradictions in my words, and such inconstancy in my conduct, that my "yeas" are "nays", and my "nays yeas?" that I say one thing at one time, and another at another time, or both in the same breath? that I should say one thing, and mean another, on purpose to deceive, and change my mind and conduct without any reason?

Gill: 2Co 1:18

But as God is true,.... It seems that the false apostles had insinuated, that as the apostle had not kept his word in coming to them as he had promised, that he was not to be depended upon in his ministry; that he might as well contradict himself, and deceive others in the one, as well as in the other: wherefore he appeals to God in a very solemn manner, calls him to witness to the truth of his doctrine; for these words may be considered as the form of an oath; or he argues from, the truth and faithfulness of God, to the certainty and invariableness of the word preached, who is so true and faithful as that he will never suffer his word to be yea and nay: for when the apostle says, that

our word towards you was not yea and nay, he does not mean his word of promise to come to Corinth; but the word of his preaching, the doctrine of the Gospel, which was not uncertain, changeable, sometimes one thing, and sometimes another, and contradictory to itself. And by this the apostle would intimate, that since he was faithful and upright, uniform, consistent, and all of a piece in preaching the Gospel to them; so they ought to believe, that he was sincere in his resolutions and promises to come and see them, though as yet he had been hindered, and had not been able to perform them.

Gill: 2Co 1:19

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,.... The apostle having asserted that the Gospel preached by them was not yea and nay, variable and different, or what was affirmed at one time was denied at another, proceeds to point out the subject of the Gospel ministry,

the Son of God, Jesus Christ; that Christ is "the Son of God": this article he began his ministry with, Act 9:20, and all the apostles affirmed the same thing; and which is of the greatest moment and importance, and ought to be abode by, insisted on, and frequently inculcated; as that he is the eternal Son of God, existed as such from everlasting, is of the same nature, and has the same perfections with his Father; and therefore is able to destroy the works of the devil, for which he was manifested in the flesh, and every way equal to the business of redemption, which he has finished; and having passed into the heavens under this character, is a powerful advocate with the Father; and which renders him a sure foundation for the church, and a proper object of faith: that the Son of God is Christ, anointed to bear and execute the office of a mediator in the several parts and branches of it; a prophet to teach his people, a priest to make atonement and intercession for them, and a King to govern and protect them: and that the Son, who is become the Lord's Christ, is Jesus, a Saviour; and that salvation is alone by him, to which he was appointed from eternity, and was sent in the fulness of time to effect it; and by his obedience, sufferings, and death, is become the author of it, and is the only able, willing, and suitable Saviour for poor sinners. This is the principal subject and strain of the Gospel ministry; and which makes it good news, and glad tidings to lost perishing sinners. The agreement between the faithful ministers of the Gospel is here plainly hinted,

who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Silvanus and Timotheus. These ministers being mentioned by the apostle with himself, shows his humility in putting them on a level with himself; and his modesty and candour in not monopolizing the Gospel to himself, but allowing others to be preachers of it as well as he: and his design herein seems to be for the confirmation of the Gospel, and to show that he was not singular and alone, and could not be blamed by them, without blaming others; and chiefly to express the harmony and unanimity of Gospel preachers. The prophets of the Old Testament, and the apostles of the New, agreed in all the doctrines and truths of the Gospel; so did the apostles themselves; and so all faithful dispensers of the word have in all different times and places agreed, and still do agree; which serves greatly to corroborate the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel being faithfully preached by these persons,

was not yea and nay; it had no contradiction in it; each part agreed together, was entirely harmonious, and consistent. Their doctrine was, that Christ is the Son of God, truly and properly God; that he took upon him the office of a Mediator, and executes it; that he is the only Saviour of sinners; that God has chosen a certain number of men in Christ before the foundation of the world, has made a covenant with them in Christ, and blessed them in him; that Christ has redeemed them by his blood; that these are regenerated by the Spirit and grace of Christ, are justified by his righteousness, and shall finally persevere, and be partakers of eternal life; which is all of a piece, and in it no yea and nay. Yea and nay doctrines are particular election, the possibility of the salvation of the non-elect, the salvability of all men, and universal redemption; justification by faith, and, as it were, by the works of the law; conversion, partly by grace, and partly by the will of man; preparatory works, offers, and days of grace; and final perseverance made a doubt of: but such is not the true ministry of Christ and his apostles,

but in him was yea; the Gospel, as in Christ, and as it comes from him, and has been preached by his apostles, and faithful ministers, is all of a piece; its constant and invariable strain, and by which it may be known and distinguished, is, to display the free, rich, and sovereign grace of God, to magnify and exalt the person and offices of Christ, to debase the creature, and to engage persons to the performance of good works, on Gospel principles, and by Gospel motives, and for right ends. The apostle using those words, "yea and nay", conforms to the language of the Jews, his countrymen, who to magnify their doctors and Rabbins, and to raise their credit, say such things of them;

""yea, yea", are the words of the house or school of Shammai; הן הן, "yea, yea", are the words of the school of Hillell ^b.''

And in another place ^c;

"the receiving and giving, or the dealings of a disciple of a wise man, are in truth and faithfulness. He says, הן הן על לאו לאו ועל, "concerning nay, nay, and concerning yea, yea".''

But what is here said better agrees with the principles and practices of the disciples and followers of Christ.

Gill: 2Co 1:20

For all the promises of God in him are yea,.... This is a reason or argument proving what is before said, that "in" Christ "was yea", since "all the promises of God in him are yea"; and shows, that God has made many promises to his people: mention is here made of "promises", and of "all" the promises; or, as the words may be rendered, "as many promises of God". There are some which concern the temporal good of the saints; as that they shall not want any good thing; and though they shall be attended with afflictions, these shall work for their good, and they shall be supported under them. Others concern their spiritual good; some of which relate to God himself, that he will be their God, which includes his everlasting love, his gracious presence, and divine protection. Others relate to Christ as their surety and Saviour, by whom they are, and shall be justified and pardoned, in whom they are adopted, and by whom they shall be saved with an everlasting salvation: and others relate to the Spirit of God, as a spirit of illumination, faith, comfort, strength, and assistance, and to supplies of grace by him from Christ: and others concern everlasting life and happiness, and are all of them very ancient, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; are exceeding great and precious, suited to the various cases of God's people; are free and unconditional, immutable and irrevocable, and will all of them have their certain accomplishment. These promises are all "in" Christ; with and in whom could they be but in him, since he only existed when they were made, which was from everlasting? with and in whom should they be of right, but in him with whom the covenant, which contains these promises, were made, and who undertook the accomplishment of them? where could they be safe and secure but in him, in whose hands are the persons, grace, and glory of his people? not in Adam, nor in angels, nor in themselves, only in him. Moreover, these promises are "in him yea",

and in him amen; they are like the Gospel which exhibits them, consistent, and all of a piece; like the covenant which contains them, and is ordered in all things, and sure; and like the author of them, whose faithfulness and lovingkindness to his in Christ shall never fail; and like Christ himself, in whom they are, who is "the amen, the true and faithful witness, the same today, yesterday, and for ever"; by whose blood, the covenant, and all the promises of it, are ratified and confirmed, and in whom, who is the truth of them, they are all fulfilled. And these are

unto the glory of God by us; these serve to illustrate and advance the glory of God, when they are preached by us, and held forth by us in the Gospel, just as they are in Christ, free, absolute, and unconditional; and when they are received "by us" as believers in Christ; for the stronger we are in the faith of the promises, the more glory we give to God; faith by laying hold on, and embracing the promises, glorifies the veracity, faithfulness, power, and grace of God. The Syriac version puts the "Amen" into this last clause, and reads it thus, "therefore by him we give Amen to the glory of God".

Gill: 2Co 1:21

Now he which stablisheth us with you,.... Two things are in this verse ascribed to God. First, the establishing of the saints in Christ; in which may be observed, that the people of God are in a firm, settled, established state and condition; they are encircled in the arms of everlasting love; they are secure of the favour of God; they are engraven on his hands, and set as a seal on his heart, from whence they can never be removed; they are taken into his family by adopting grace; and will never be turned out; they are in a state of justification, and shall never enter into condemnation; they are regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God, and shall never finally and totally fall from that grace they have received. This their establishment is "in" Christ, and in no other. They had no stability in Adam, nor have they any in themselves; their standing is alone in him; the unchangeable love and favour of God, which is their grand security, is in Christ; the covenant of grace, in which is all their salvation, is made and stands fast with him; their persons, with all their grace and glory, are put into his hands, and made his care and charge, and there they are safe. They are espoused unto him, made one with him, incorporated into him, and are built upon him the rock of ages, where they are so established, that hell and earth cannot shake them, so as to remove and unsettle them from this foundation: one and all of them, and all together, are established in him,

us with you; all the elect of God are alike, and together in Christ, and have the same place and standing in his love, power, and care; they make up one body, of which Christ is the head, and not one of them shall be lost, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, ministers or private believers; for so this phrase may be interpreted, "us" Jews "with you" Gentiles, or "us" ministers "with you" believers. This work of establishing the saints in Christ is wholly the Lord's act; he

is God that does it; which does not contradict the word and ordinances being means of establishment; nor does it hinder or discourage persons making use of means for their stability; for the apostle here is not speaking so much of the stability of hearts, frames, and exercise of grace, as of state; though a firm, steady, and stable assurance of interest in Christ, is what God gives by his Spirit. The apostle's view seems to be this, that whatever steadfastness and stability the saints have, whether ministers or people, they ought to ascribe it entirely to God, Father, Son, and Spirit. "Secondly", the anointing of them:

he hath anointed us; which is to be understood either of the unction of ministers, with the gifts of the Spirit for ministerial service; or rather of the anointing of private Christians with the grace of the Spirit, compared to oil or ointment, in allusion to the anointing oil under the law, by which the tabernacle, and its vessels, Aaron, and his sons, were anointed, who were typical of the saints and priests of God under the Gospel; or to the lamp oil in the candlestick, which was pure, and for light; or to oil in common, for its sweet smell, refreshing nature, and for its usefulness for ornament and healing. This also is the Lord's work, and not man's; this unction comes from the God of all grace, through Christ, by the Spirit.

Gill: 2Co 1:22

Who hath also sealed us,.... "Two" things more are here attributed to God; "first", the sealing of his people. The use of seals is various, as to denote property in things, to distinguish one thing from another, to show esteem and affection for persons or things, and for security and protection, and to hide and conceal; all which might be applied to sealing, as expressive of the grace of God to his people, in claiming a property in them, distinguishing them from the rest of the world, setting his affections on them, securing and protecting their persons, and hiding them under the shadow of his wings: but sometimes a seal is used to certify, make sure, or assure the truth of a thing; see Joh 3:33 in which sense the word "sealing" is used here, and intends that assurance which God gives his people of their interest in his love, and the covenant of grace; of their election of God, and redemption by Christ; of their interest in Christ, and union with him; of their justification by him, and adoption through him; of the truth of grace in their hearts, their perseverance in it, and sure and certain enjoyment of eternal glory. The persons thus sealed are not carnal and unconverted persons, only believers in Christ, and these, after they commence such; the seal by which they are sealed, is not any of the ordinances, as circumcision under the Old Testament, or baptism, or the Lord's supper under the New; for these are no seals, nor are they ever so called; but the Spirit of God himself, as the Holy Spirit of promise; for the same who, in the next clause, is called the earnest, is the seal; see Eph 1:13. "Secondly", the giving of the earnest of the Spirit:

and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts: by "the Spirit" is meant, not the gifts and graces of the Spirit merely, but the Spirit of God and Christ himself; who was concerned in the creation of the world, in inditing the Scriptures, in forming and filling the human nature of Christ, and in his resurrection from the dead; he himself is given as an "earnest": the word αρραβων, here used, and in 2Co 5:5 is the Hebrew word ערבון, and comes from ערב, which signifies "to become a surety, to give a pledge"; and is used for a pledge in covenants and bargains, both in Scripture, see Gen 38:17, and in Jewish writings ^d; which is given as an earnest, and in part of what it is a pledge of, and is never returned: the Spirit of God is an earnest or pledge of the heavenly inheritance, which is not only prepared for us, and promised to us, and Christ is in the possession of in our nature, in our room and stead, and as our representative; but the Spirit of God also is sent down "into our hearts" as a pledge of it; where he dwells as in his temple, supplies us with all grace, witnesses to us our sonship, and assures us of the heavenly glory: and as such he is "given"; and an unmerited free grace gift he is; for him to be given in this manner, and for such a purpose, is a wonderful display of the love of the Father, and of the Son, and is a surprising instance of his grace and condescension of the Spirit, and for which we should be abundantly thankful.

Gill: 2Co 1:23

Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul,.... The apostle having asserted his stability, both as a minister and a Christian, which, with others, he had from God, appeals to him in the most solemn manner, in full form of an oath, for the truth of what he was about to say; and is all one as if he had said, I swear by the living God, the searcher of all hearts; I call upon him to attest what I say, and bear witness to my soul, that it is true,

that to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth; however fickle, unstable, and inconstant, it may be insinuated to you I am, or you may take me to be, I do assure you in the name and presence of God, that the true reason of my not coming to you hitherto, since I gave you reason to expect me, was, that I might not be burdensome or chargeable to you; or I have delayed coming to you, hoping for a reformation among you, that when I do come, I may not come with a rod, and severely chastise you for the many disorders among you; that I might not use sharpness according to the power God has given me, in an extraordinary way, as an apostle, to punish for offences committed. Hence we learn, that an oath is a solemn appeal to God, and may be lawfully made in cases of moment and importance, as this of the apostle's was; whose character was traduced, and with which was connected the usefulness of his ministry; and it being an affair that could not be determined in any other way, and an oath being for confirmation, and to put an end to strife, he makes one in this serious and awful manner.

Gill: 2Co 1:24

Not for that we have dominion,.... Since he had spoke of "sparing" of them, lest it should be thought that he and his fellow ministers assumed to themselves any tyrannical power over the churches, or lorded it over God's heritage, these words are subjoined: in which there is something denied of the ministers of the Gospel, as that they

have not dominion over your faith: by which may be meant both the grace and doctrine of faith: they cannot give or produce in the heart the grace of faith; that is the gift of God; of which Christ is not only the object, but the author; it is of the operation of the Spirit, and the effect of almighty power; it flows entirely from the free grace of God; all that ministers can do is to propose the object of faith, and, by arguments taken from the word of God, encourage souls to believe in the object proposed, and so are, through a divine blessing on their ministrations, instruments by which some believe; but they themselves cannot command faith in any; nor can they increase or add unto it where it is; this also is the Lord's work: nor have they any dominion over the doctrine of faith; they are to deliver nothing to the people but what is contained in the Scriptures, and the people are obliged to believe no more than what they find there; no alteration is to be made in the rule and doctrine of faith; ministers have no power to make and impose new articles of faith, though they may require and insist upon an assent to those truths which they deliver, according to the word of God. Likewise, something is asserted of them,

but are helpers of your joy. "Joy" is a grace wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God, of which Christ is the object; it goes along with faith, and as that improves, so does this; it is often interrupted by the corruptions of the heart, the temptations of Satan, and divine desertions, and so is in this life imperfect; though it may be increased, as it sometimes is, and that by the ministration of the Gospel; for as the ministers of it are the means and instruments of that joy which is first felt in conversion, so likewise of increasing it by their comfortable doctrines and instructions; for their ministry is, and is often blessed, for the furtherance and joy of faith. A reason of which is given,

for by faith ye stand; and so are not subject to men, nor to any tyrannical government of ours; nor have we anything to charge you with concerning your faith: which may design the grace of faith, and express its use in the perseverance of the saints, who stand not upon their faith, but "by it"; and by it, not as a cause but as a means of their perseverance; by which they rely on the power and faithfulness of God, lean upon Christ, and walk on in him, live upon him, continually receive from him, and in his strength stand against the temptations of Satan, and snares of the world: and it may also denote the strength and continuance of faith; a man may be said to stand by it, when he strongly believes his interest in God, in his love, and the covenant of his grace, his interest in Christ, and salvation by him; is satisfied about the truth of grace on his soul, makes no demur upon the promises, nor hesitates about the doctrines of grace, or his future happiness, but rejoices in hope of the glory of God; as also, when he continues in the exercise of faith, notwithstanding the corruptions of his nature, the temptations of Satan, the hidings of God's face, and the many afflictions and trials he meets with in the world. Moreover, this passage may be applied to the doctrine of faith, in and by which the saints may be said to stand, in opposition to any wavering or hesitation about it, to a cowardly spirit in giving way in the least to the adversaries of it, or to a departing from it; which by no means should be done, though a greater number is on the other side, and they be the rich and learned; though the doctrines of it are disagreeable to the carnal reason of man, are loaded with reproach, and followed with the rage, malice, and persecutions of men: or these words may relate to a profession of faith: care should be used in taking up a profession of faith; where the true grace of God is, it ought to be done; when it is made, it ought to be stood in, and abode by; and it is the honour of saints to stand in it, and to it, and hold it fast.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 1:1

¹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

² map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

³ tn Or “are throughout Achaia.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:2

¹ tn Grk “Grace to you and peace.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:3

¹ tn There is no verb in the Greek text; either the optative (“be”) or the indicative (“is”) can be supplied. The meaning of the term εὐλογητός (euloghtos) and the author’s intention at this point in the epistle must both come into play to determine which is the preferred nuance. εὐλογητός as an adjective can mean either that one is praised or that one is blessed, that is, in a place of favor and benefit. The meaning “blessed” would be more naturally paired with an indicative verb and would suggest that blessedness is an intrinsic part of God’s character. The meaning “praised” would be more naturally paired with an optative verb and would suggest that God ought to be praised. Pauline style in the epistles generally moves from statements to obligations, expressing the reality first and then the believer’s necessary response. When considered as a whole, although a decision is difficult, the general Pauline style of beginning with statements and moving to obligations argues for the indicative. Cf. also Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:4

¹ tn Or “our trials”; traditionally, “our affliction.” The term θλῖψις (qliyi") refers to trouble (including persecution) that involves direct suffering (L&N 22.2).

² tn Or “any trials”; traditionally, “any affliction.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:5

¹ tn This Greek word translated “sufferings” here (πάθημα, paqhma) is a different one than the one Paul uses for his own afflictions/persecutions (θλῖψις, qliyi") in v. 4.

² tn I.e., suffering incurred by Paul as a consequence of his relationship to Christ. The genitive could be considered to have a causative nuance here.

³ tn Traditionally, “abound” (here and throughout this section).

⁴ tn The words “to you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied by the statements in the following verse.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:6

¹ tn Or “are troubled.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:7

¹ tn Grk “as you are sharers in.”

² tn Grk “will be sharers in.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:8

¹ tn Grk “brothers,” but the Greek word may be used for “brothers and sisters” or “fellow Christians” as here (cf. BDAG 18 s.v. ἀδελφός 1., where considerable nonbiblical evidence for the plural ἀδελφοί [adelfoi] meaning “brothers and sisters” is cited).

² tn Grk “Asia”; in the NT this always refers to the Roman province of Asia, made up of about one-third of the west and southwest end of modern Asia Minor. Asia lay to the west of the region of Phrygia and Galatia. The words “the province of” are supplied to indicate to the modern reader that this does not refer to the continent of Asia.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:9

¹ tn Grk “we ourselves had the sentence of death within ourselves.” Here ἀπόκριμα (apokrima) is being used figuratively; no actual official verdict had been given, but in light of all the difficulties that Paul and his colleagues had suffered, it seemed to them as though such an official verdict had been rendered against them (L&N 56.26).

² tn Or “might not put confidence in ourselves.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:10

¹ tn Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, the relative clause “who delivered us…” was made a separate sentence in the translation.

² tn Grk “deliver us, on whom we have set our hope.”

³ tc Several important witnesses, especially Alexandrian (Ì⁴⁶ B D* 0121 0243 1739 1881 pc Did), lack ὅτι ({oti, “that”) here, while others, most notably Western (D¹ F G 104 630 1505 pc ar b sy^h Or Ambst), lack ἔτι (eti, “yet”). Most mss, including important Alexandrians (א A C D² Ψ 33 Ï f t vg), have the full expression ὅτι καὶ ἔτι ({oti kai eti). Although the predominantly Alexandrian reading has much to commend it, the fact that either ὅτι or ἔτι has been dropped, while the καί has been retained, suggests that the original wording had ὅτι καὶ ἔτι, and that either particle dropped out intentionally for stylistic reasons. (F and G have the order καί ὅτι, suggesting that in their archetype the ἔτι was unintentionally dropped due to homoioteleuton.) If, however, ὅτι is not authentic, v. 10b should be translated “We have set our hope on him, and he will deliver us again.” Overall, a decision is difficult, but preference should be given to ὅτι καὶ ἔτι.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:11

¹ tn Grk “so that thanks may be given by many.” The words “to God” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. The passive construction has been converted to an active one for clarity, in keeping with contemporary English style.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:12

¹ tn Or “for boasting.”

² tc Two viable variants exist at this place in the text: ἁγιότητι (Jagiothti, “holiness”) vs. ἁπλότητι (Japlothti, “pure motives”). A confusion of letters could well have produced the variant (TCGNT 507): In uncial script the words would have been written agiothti and aplothti. This, however, does not explain which reading created the other. Overall ἁπλότητι, though largely a Western-Byzantine reading (א² D F G Ï lat sy), is better suited to the context; it is also a Pauline word while ἁγιότης (Jagioth") is not. It also best explains the rise of the other variants, πραότητι (praothti, “gentleness”) and {σπλάγχνοις} (splancnoi", “compassion”). On the other hand, the external evidence in favor of ἁγιότητι is extremely strong (Ì⁴⁶ א* A B C K P Ψ 0121 0243 33 81 1739 1881 al co). This diversity of mss provides excellent evidence for authenticity, but because of the internal evidence listed above, ἁπλότητι is to be preferred, albeit only slightly.

tn Or “sincerity.” The two terms translated “pure motives” (ἁπλότης, Japloth") and “sincerity” (εἰλικρίνεια, eilikrineia) are close synonyms.

³ tn Grk “pure motives and sincerity of God.”

⁴ tn Or “not by worldly wisdom.”

⁵ tn Or “and especially.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:13

¹ tn Grk “than the things.”

² tn Grk “to the end,” a Greek idiom for “fully,” “totally,” “completely.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:14

¹ tn Grk “that we are your boast even as you are our boast.”

² tc ‡ On the wording “the Lord Jesus” (τοῦ κυρίου ᾿Ιησοῦ, tou kuriou Ihsou) there is some variation in the extant witnesses: ἡμῶν (Jhmwn, “our”) is found after κυρίου in several significant witnesses (א B F G P 0121 0243 6 33 81 1739 1881 2464 al lat co); the pronoun is lacking from Ì^46vid A C D Ψ Ï. Although in Paul “our Lord Jesus Christ” is a common expression, “our Lord Jesus” is relatively infrequent (cf., e.g., Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 1:14; 1 Thess 2:19; 3:11, 13; 2 Thess 1:8, 12). “The Lord Jesus” occurs about as often as “our Lord Jesus” (cf. 1 Cor 11:23; 16:23; 2 Cor 4:14; 11:31; Eph 1:15; 1 Thess 4:2; 2 Thess 1:7; Phlm 5). Thus, on balance, since scribes would tend to expand on the text, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic. NA²⁷ places the pronoun in brackets, indicating doubt as to its authenticity.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:15

¹ tn Grk “a second grace,” “a second favor” (used figuratively of a second visit by Paul).

NET Notes: 2Co 1:16

¹ tn Grk “come again.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:17

¹ tn The Greek construction anticipates a negative answer. This is indicated in the translation by the ‘tag’ question “did I?” at the end of the sentence.

² tn Grk “the things that I plan, do I plan (them).”

³ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

⁴ tn Grk “so that with me there should be.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:19

¹ sn Silvanus is usually considered to be the same person as Silas (L&N 93.340).

NET Notes: 2Co 1:21

¹ tn Or “strengthens.”

² tn Grk “But he who establishes us together with you in Christ and anointed us is God.”

NET Notes: 2Co 1:22

¹ tn Or “first installment,” “pledge,” “deposit.”

sn Down payment. The Greek word ἀρραβών (arrabwn) denotes the first payment or first installment of money or goods which serves as a guarantee or pledge for the completion of the transaction. In the NT the term is used only figuratively of the Holy Spirit as the down payment of the blessings promised by God (it occurs later in 2 Cor 5:5, and also in Eph 1:14). In the “already – not yet” scheme of the NT the possession of the Spirit now by believers (“already”) can be viewed as a guarantee that God will give them the balance of the promised blessings in the future (“not yet”).

NET Notes: 2Co 1:23

¹ tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).

² tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.

³ sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.

map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

NET Notes: 2Co 1:24

¹ tn Or “because you stand firm in the faith.”

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:1

Paul, ^{( 1 )} an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy [our] brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:

^{( 1 )} See the declaration of such salutations in the former epistles.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:3

^{( 2 ) ( a )} Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of ^{( b )} mercies, and the God of all comfort;

^{( 2 )} He begins after this manner with thanksgiving, which nonetheless (otherwise than he was accustomed to) he applies to himself: beginning his epistle with the setting forth of the dignity of his apostleship, forced (as it should seem) by their importunity which took an occasion to despise him, by reason of his miseries. But he answers, that he is not so afflicted but that his comforts do exceed his afflictions, showing the ground of them, even the mercy of God the Father in Jesus Christ.

^{( a )} To him be praise and glory given.

^{( b )} Most merciful.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:4

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, ^{( 3 )} that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

^{( 3 )} The Lord comforts us to this end and purpose, that we may so much the more surely comfort others.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:5

For as the ^{( c )} sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.

^{( c )} The miseries which we suffer for Christ, or which Christ suffers in us.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:6

^{( 4 )} And whether we be afflicted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation, which is ^{( d )} effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, [it is] for your consolation and salvation.

^{( 4 )} He denies that either his afflictions with which he was often afflicted, or the consolations which he received of God, may justly be despised, seeing that the Corinthians both ought and might take great occasion to be strengthened and encouraged by either of them.

^{( d )} Although salvation is given to us freely, yet because there is a way appointed to us by which we must come to it, which is the race of an innocent and upright life which we must run, therefore we are said to work our salvation; (Phi 2:12). And because it is God alone that of his free good will works all things in us, therefore is he said to work the salvation in us by that very same way by which we must pass to everlasting life, after we have once overcome all incumbrances.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:8

^{( 5 )} For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we ^{( e )} despaired even of life:

^{( 5 )} He witnesses that he is not ashamed of his afflictions, and further that he desires also to have all men know the greatness of them, and also his delivery from them, although it is not yet perfect.

^{( e )} I did not know at all what to do, neither did I see by man's help which way to save my life.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:9

But we had the sentence of death in ^{( f )} ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:

^{( f )} I was resolved within myself to die.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:10

Who delivered us from so ^{( g )} great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver [us];

^{( g )} From these great dangers.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:11

^{( 6 )} Ye also helping together by prayer for us, ^{( 7 )} that for the gift [bestowed] upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

^{( 6 )} That he may not seem to boast of himself, he attributes all to God, and in so doing also confesses that he attributes much to the prayers of the faithful. ^{( 7 )} The end of the afflictions of the saints is the glory of God, and therefore they ought to be precious to us.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:12

^{( 8 )} For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly ^{( h )} sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the ^{( i )} grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.

^{( 8 )} Secondly, he dismisses another slander, that is, that he was a light man, and such a one as was not lightly to be trusted, seeing that he promised to come to them, and did not come. And first he speaks of the singleness of his mind, and sincerity, which they knew both by his voice when he was present, and they ought to acknowledge it also in his letters, being absent: and moreover he protests that he will never be otherwise.

^{( h )} With clearness, and holy and true plainness of mind, as God himself can witness.

^{( i )} Trusting to that very wisdom which God of his free goodness has given me from heaven.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:13

For we write ^{( k )} none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the ^{( l )} end;

^{( k )} He says that he writes plainly and simply: for he that writes in an elaborate way, is rightly said to write otherwise than we read. And this, he says, the Corinthians will truly know and like very well.

^{( l )} Perfectly.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:14

As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your ^{( m )} rejoicing, even as ye also [are] ours in the ^{( n )} day of the Lord Jesus.

^{( m )} Paul's rejoicing in the Lord was that he had won the Corinthians: and they themselves rejoiced that such an apostle was their instructor, and taught them so purely and sincerely.

^{( n )} When he will sit as judge.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:15

And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a ^{( o )} second benefit;

^{( o )} Another benefit.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:17

^{( 9 )} When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the ^{( p )} flesh, that with me there should be ^{( q )} yea yea, and nay nay?

^{( 9 )} He dismisses their slander and false report by denying it, and first of all in that different ones went about to persuade the Corinthians, that in the preaching of the Gospel, Paul agreed not to himself: for this was the matter and the case.

^{( p )} As men do who will rashly promise anything, and change their purpose constantly.

^{( q )} That I should say and not say a thing?

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:18

^{( 10 )} But [as] God [is] ^{( r )} true, our word toward you was not yea and nay.

^{( 10 )} He calls God as witness and as judge of his constancy in preaching and teaching one self same Gospel.

^{( r )} True, and of whose faithful witness it would be horribly wicked to doubt.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:19

^{( 11 )} For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, [even] by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, ^{( s )} was not yea and nay, but in ^{( t )} him was yea.

^{( 11 )} He adds also with himself his companions, as witnesses with whom he fully consented in teaching the same thing, that is, the same Christ.

^{( s )} Was not different and wavering.

^{( t )} That is, in God.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:20

^{( 12 )} For all the promises of God in him [are] yea, and in ^{( u )} him Amen, unto the glory of God by ^{( x )} us.

^{( 12 )} Last of all he declares the sum of his doctrine, that is, that all the promises of salvation are sure and ratified in Christ.

^{( u )} Christ is set also forth to exhibit and fulfil them most assuredly, and without any doubt.

^{( x )} Through our ministry.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:21

^{( 13 )} Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, [is] God;

^{( 13 )} He attributes the praise of this constancy only to the grace of God, through the Holy Spirit. In addition he concludes that they cannot doubt of his faith and his fellows, without doing injury to the Spirit of God, seeing that they themselves know all this to be true.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:22

Who hath also sealed us, and given the ^{( y )} earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.

^{( y )} An earnest is whatever is given to confirm a promise.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:23

^{( 14 )} Moreover I call God for a record upon my ^{( z )} soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

^{( 14 )} Now coming to the matter, he swears that he did not lightly alter his purpose of coming to them, but rather that he did not come to them for this reason, that he, being present, might not be forced to deal more sharply with them than he would like.

^{( z )} Against myself, and to the danger of my own life.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:24

^{( 15 )} Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your ^{( a )} joy: for by faith ye stand.

^{( 15 )} He removes all suspicion of arrogance, declaring that he speaks not as a lord to them, but as a servant, appointed by God to comfort them.

^{( a )} He sets the joy and peace of conscience, which God is author of, as opposed to tyrannous fear, and in addition shows the result of the Gospel.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Co 1:1-24

1 Paul salutes the Corinthians;

3 he encourages them against troubles, by the comforts and deliverances which God had given him, as in all his afflictions,

8 so particularly in his late danger in Asia.

12 And calling both his own conscience and theirs to witness of his sincere manner of preaching the immutable truth of the gospel,

15 he excuses his not coming to them, as proceeding not of lightness, but of his lenity towards them.

Maclaren: 2Co 1:20

God's Yea; Man's Amen

For how many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the yea: wherefore also through Him is the Amen.'--2 Cor. 1:20 (R.V.).

THIS is one of the many passages the force and beauty of which are, for the first time, brought within the reach of an English reader by the alterations in the Revised Version. These are partly dependent upon the reading of the text and partly upon the translation. As the words stand in the Authorised Version,' yea' and amen' seem to be very nearly synonymous expressions, and to point substantially to the same thing--viz. that Jesus Christ is, as it were, the confirmation and seal of God's promises. But in the Revised Version the alterations, especially in the pronouns, indicate more distinctly that the Apostle means two different things by the yea' and the amen.' The one is God's voice, the other is man's. The one has to do with the certainty of the divine revelation, the other has to do with the certitude of our faith in the revelation. When God speaks in Christ, He confirms everything that He has said before, and when we listen to God speaking in Christ, our lips are, through Christ, opened to utter our assenting Amen' to His great promises. So, then, we have the double form of our Lord's work, covering the whole ground of His relations to man, set forth in these two clauses, in the one of which God's confirmation of His past revelations by Jesus Christ is treated of, and in the other of which the full and confident assent which men may give to that revelation is set before us. I deal, then, with these two points--God's certainties in Christ, and man's certitudes through Christ.

Now these two things do not always go together. We may be very certain, as far as our persuasion is concerned, of a very doubtful fact, or we may be very doubtful, as far as our persuasion is concerned, of a very certain fact. We speak about truths or facts as being certain, and we ought to mean by that,, not how we think about them, but what they are in the evidence on which they rest. A certain truth is a truth which has its evidence irrefragable; and the only fitting attitude for men, in the presence of a certain truth, is to have a certitude of the truth. And these two things are, our Apostle tells us, both given to us in and through Jesus Christ. Let me deal, then, with these two sides.

I. First, God's Certainties In Christ.

Of course the original reference of the text is to the whole series of great promises given in the Old Testament. These, says Paul, are sealed and confirmed to men by the revelation and work of Jesus Christ, but it is obvious that the principle which is good in reference to them is good on a wider field. I venture to take that extension, and to ask you to think briefly about some of the things that are made for us indubitably certain in Jesus Christ.

And, first of all, there is the certainty about God's heart. Everywhere else we have only peradventures, hopes, fears, guesses more or less doubtful, and roundabout inferences as to His disposition and attitude towards us. As one of the old divines says somewhere, All other ways of knowing God are like the bended bow. Christ is the straight string.' The only means by which, indubitably, as a matter of demonstration, men can be sure that God in the heavens has a heart of love towards them is by Jesus Christ. For consider what will make us sure of that. Nothing but facts; words are of little use, arguments are of little use. A revelation, however precious, which simply says to us, God is Love' is not sufficient for our need. We want to see love in operation if we are to be sure of it, and the only demonstration of the love of God is to witness the love of God in actual working. And you get it--where? On the Cross of Jesus Christ. I do not believe that anything else irrefragably establishes the fact for the yearning hearts of us poor men who want love, and yet cannot grope our way in amidst the mysteries and the clouds in providence and nature, except this--Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins?

The question may arise in some minds, Is there any need for proving God's love? The question never arose except within the limits of Christianity. It is only men who have lived all their lives in an atmosphere saturated by Christian sentiment and conviction that ever come to the point of saying, We do not want historical revelation to prove to us the fact of a loving God.' They would never have fancied that they did not need the revelation unless, unconsciously to themselves, and indirectly, all their thoughts had been coloured and illuminated by the revelation that they profess they reject. God as Love is our dearest faith, our ghastliest doubt,' and the only way to make absolutely certain of the fact that His heart is full of mercy to us is to look upon Him as He stands revealed to us, not merely in the words of Christ, for, precious as they are, these are the smallest part of His revelation, but in the life and in the death which open for us the heart of God. Remember what He said Himself, not He who hath listened to Me, doth understand the Father,' but He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.' In Him is yea,' and the hopes and shadowy fore-revelations of the loving heart of God are confirmed by the fact of His life and death. God establishes, not commends' as our translation has it, His love towards us in that whilst we were yet sinners Christ died for us.'

Further, in Him we have the certainty of pardon. Every deep heart-experience amongst men has felt the necessity of having a clear certainty and knowledge about forgiveness. Men do not feel it always. A man can skate over the surface of the great deeps that lie beneath the most frivolous life, and may suppose, in his superficial way of looking at things, that there is no need for any definite teaching about sin and the mode of dealing with it. But once bring that man face to face, in a quiet hour, with the facts of his life and of a divine law, and all that superficial ignoring of evil in himself and of the dread of punishment and consequences, passes away. I am sure of this, that no religion will ever go far and last long and work mightily, and lay a sovereign hand upon human life, which has not a most plain and decisive message to preach in reference to pardon. And I am sure of this, that one reason for the comparative feebleness of much so-called Christian teaching in this generation is just that the deepest needs of a man's conscience are not met by it. In a religion on which the whole spirit of a man may rest itself, there must be a very plain message about what is to be done with sin. The only message which answers to the needs of an awakened conscience and an alarmed heart is the old-fashioned message that Jesus Christ the Righteous has died for us sinful men. All other religions have felt after a clear doctrine of forgiveness, and all have failed to find it. Here is the divine Yea!' And on it alone we can suspend the whole weight of our soul's salvation. The rope that is to haul us out of the horrible pit and the miry clay had much need to be tested before we commit ourselves to it. There are plenty of easygoing superficial theories about forgiveness predominant in the world to-day. Except the one that says, In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sin,' they are all like the rope let down into the dark mine to lift the captives beneath, half of the strands of which have been cut on the sharp edge above, and when the weight hangs on to it, it will snap. There is nothing on which a man who has once learned the tragical meaning and awful reality and depth of the fact of his transgression can suspend his forgiveness, except this, that Christ has died, the just for the unjust, to bring us unto God.' In Him the promise is yea.'

And, again, we have in Christ divine certainties in regard to life. We have in Him the absolutely perfect pattern to which we are to conform our whole doings. And so, notwithstanding that there may, and will still be many uncertainties and much perplexity, we have the great broad lines of morals and of duty traced with a firm hand, and all that we need to know of obligation and of perfectness lies in this--Be like Jesus Christ! So the solemn commandments of the ethical side of Divine Revelation, as well as the premises of it, get their yea' in Jesus Christ, and He stands the Law of our lives.

We have certainties for life, in the matter of protection, guidance, supply of all necessity, and the like, treasured and garnered in Jesus Christ. For He not only confirms, but fulfils, the promises which God has made. If we have that dear Lord for our very own, and He belongs to us as He does belong to them who love Him and trust Him, then in Him we have in actual possession these promises, how many soever they be, which are given by God's other words.

Christ is Protean, and becomes everything to each man that each man requires. He is, as it were, a box where sweets compacted lie.' In Him are hid all the treasures,' not only of wisdom and knowledge, but of divine gifts, and we have but to go to Him in order to have that which at each moment as it emerges, we most require. As in some of those sunny islands of the Southern Pacific, one tree supplies the people with all that they need for their simple wants, fruit for their food, leaves for their houses, staves, thread, needles, clothing, drink, everything--so Jesus Christ, this Tree of Life, is Himself the sum of all the promises, and, having Him, we have everything that we need.

And, lastly, in Christ we have the divine certainties as to the Future over which, apart from Him, lie cloud and darkness. As I said about the revelation of the heart of God, so I say about the revelation of a future life--a verbal revelation is not enough. We have enough of arguments; what we want is facts. We have enough of man's peradventures about a future life, enough of evidence more or less valid to show that it is probable,' or not inconceivable,' or more likely than not,' and so on and so on. What we want is that somebody shall cross the gulf and come back again, and so we get in the Resurrection of Christ the one fact on which men may safely rest their convictions of immortality, and I do not think that there is a second anywhere. On it alone, as I believe, hinges the whole answer to the question--If a man die, shall he live again?' This generation is brought, in my reading of it, right up to this alternative--Christ's Resurrection,--or we die like the brutes that perish. All the promises of God in Him are yea.'

II. And Now A Word As To The Second Portion Of My Text, VIz, Man's Certitudes, Which Answer To God's Certainties.

The latter are in Christ, the former are through Christ. Now it is clear that the only fitting attitude for professing Christians in reference to these certainties of God is the attitude of unhesitating affirmation and joyful assent. Certitude is the fitting response to certainty.

There should be some kind of correspondence between the firmness with which we grasp, the tenacity with which we hold, the assurance with which we believe, these great truths, and the rock-like firmness and immovableness of the evidence upon which they rest. It is a poor compliment to God to come to His most veracious affirmations, sealed with the broad seal of His Son's life and death, and to answer with a hesitating Amen,' that falters and almost sticks in our throat. Build rock upon rock. Be sure of the certain things. Grasp with a firm hand the firm stay. Immovably cling to the immovable foundation; and though you be but like the limpet on the rock hold fast by the Rock, as the limpet does; for it is an insult to the certainty of the revelation, when there is hesitation in the believer.

I need not dwell for more than a moment upon the lamentable contrast which is presented between this certitude, which is our only fitting attitude, and the hesitating assent and half belief in which so many professing Christians pass their lives. The reasons for that are partly moral, partly intellectual. This is not a day which is favourable to the unhesitating avowal of convictions in reference to an unseen world, and many of us are afraid of being called narrow, or dogmatisers, and think it looks like breadth, and liberality, and culture, and I know not what, to say Well! perhaps it is, but I am not quite sure; I think it is, but I will not commit myself.' All the promises of God, which in Him are yea, ought through Him to get from us an Amen.'

There is a great deal that will always be uncertain. The firmer our convictions, the fewer will be the things that they grasp; but, if they be few, they will be large, and enough for us. These truths certified in Christ concerning the heart of God, the message of pardon, the law for life, the gifts of guidance, defence, and sanctifying, the sure and certain hope of immortality --these things we ought to be sure about, whatever borderland of uncertainty may lie beyond them. The Christian verb is we know,' not we hope, we calculate, we infer, we think,' but we know: And it becomes us to apprehend for ourselves the full blessedness and power of the certitude which Christ has given to us by the certainties which he has brought us.

I need not speak about the blessedness of such a calm assurance, about the need of it for power, for peace, for effort, for fixedness in the midst of a world and age of change. But I must, before I close, point you to the only path by which that certitude is attainable. Through Him is the amen.' He is the Door. The truths which He confirms are so inextricably intertwined with Himself that you cannot get them and put away Him. Christ's relation to Christ's Gospel is not the relation of other teachers to their words. You may accept the words of a Plato, whatever you think of the Plato who spoke the words. But you cannot separate Christ and His teaching in that fashion, and you must have Him if you are to get it. So, faith in Him, the intellectual acceptance of Him, as the authoritative and infallible Revealer, the bowing down of heart and will to Him as our Commander and our Lord, the absolute trust in Him as the foundation of all our hope and the source of all our blessedness--that is the way to certitude, and there is no other road that we can take.

If thus we keep near Him, our faith will bring us the present experience and fulfilment of the promises, and we shall be sure of them, because we have them already. And whilst men are asking, Do we know anything about God? Is there a God at all? Is there such a thing as forgiveness? Can anybody find anywhere absolute rules for his life? Is there anything beyond the grave but mist and darkness?' we can say,' One thing I know, Jesus Christ is my Saviour, and in Him I know God, and pardon, and duty, and sanctifying, and safety, and immortality; and whatever is dark, this, at least, is sun-clear.' Get high enough up and you will be above the fog; and while the men down in it are squabbling as to whether there is anything outside the mist, you, from your sunny station, will see the far-off coasts, and haply catch some whiff of perfume from their shore, and see some glinting of a glory upon the shining turrets of the city that hath foundations.' We have a present possession of all the promises of God; and whoever doubts their certitude, the man who knows himself a son of God by faith, and has experience of forgiveness and guidance and answered prayer and hopes whose sweetness yieldeth proof that they were born for immortality,' knows the things which others question and doubt.

So live near Jesus Christ, and, holding fast by His hand, you may lift up your joyful Amen' to every one of God's Yeas.' For in Him we know the Father, in Him we know that we have the forgiveness of sins, in Him we know that God is near to bless and succour and guide, and in Him we know that, though our earthly house were dissolved, we have a building of God.' Wherefore we are always confident; and when the Voice from Heaven says Yea!' our choral shout may go up Amen! Thou art the faithful and true witness.'

Maclaren: 2Co 1:21

Anointed And Stablished

Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is fled.'--2 Cor. 1:21.

THE connection in which these words occur is a remarkable illustration of the Apostle's habit of looking at the most trivial things in the light of the highest truths. He had been obliged, as the context informs us, to abandon an intended visit to Corinth. The miserable crew of antagonists, who yelped at his heels all his life, seized this change of purpose as the occasion for a double-barrelled charge.

They said he was either fickle and infirm of purpose, or insincere, and saying Yea' with one side of his mouth and Nay' with the other. He rebuts this accusation with apparently quite disproportionate vehemence and great solemnity. He points in the context to the faithfulness of God, to the firm Gospel which he had preached, to God's great Yea!' as his answer. He says in effect, How could I, with such a word burning in my heart, move in a region of equivocation and double-dealing; or how could I, whose whole being is saturated with so firm and stable a Gospel, be unreliable and fickle? The message must make the messenger like itself. Communion with a faithful God must make faith-keeping men; the certainties of God's "Yea," and the certitudes of our "Amen," must influence our characters.' And so to suppose that a man, influenced by Christianity, is a weak, double-dealing, unsteadfast man is a contradiction in terms. In the text he carries his argument a step further, and points, not only to the power of the Gospel to steady and confirm, but also to the fact that God Himself communicates to the believing soul Christian stability by the anointing which He bestows.

So, then, we have in these words the declaration that inflexible, immovable steadfastness is a mark of a Christian, and that this Christian steadfastness, without which there is no Christianity worth the naming, is a direct gift from God Himself by means of that great anointing which He confers upon men. To that thought, in one or two of its aspects, I ask your attention.

I. Notice The Deep Source Of This Christian Steadfastness.

The language of the original, carefully considered, seems to me to bear this interpretation, that the anointing' of the second clause is the means of the establishing' of the first--that is to say, that God confers Christian steadfastness of character by the bestowment of the unction of His Divine Spirit.

Now notice how deep Paul digs in order to get a foundation for a common virtue. There are many ways by which men may cultivate the tenacity and steadfastness of purpose which ought to mark us all. Much discipline may be brought to bear in order to secure that; but the text says that the deepest ground upon which it can be rested is nothing less divine and solemn than this, the actual communication to men, to feeble, vacillating, fluctuating wills, and treacherous, wayward, wandering hearts, of the strength and fixedness which are given by God's own Spirit.

I suppose I need not remind .you that from beginning to end of Scripture, anointing' is taken as the symbol of the communication of a true divine influence. The oil poured on the head of prophet, priest, and king was but the expression of the communication to the recipient of a divine influence which fitted him as well as designated him, for the office that he filled. And although it is aside from my present purpose, I may just, in a sentence, point to the felicity of the emblem. The flowing oil smoothes the surface upon which it is spread, supples the limbs, and is nutritive and illuminating; thus giving an appropriate emblem of the secret, silent, quickening, nourishing, enlightening influences of that Spirit which God gives to all His sons.

And inasmuch as here this oil of the Divine Spirit is stated as being the true ground and basis of Christian steadfastness, it is obvious that the anointing intended cannot be that of mere designation to, and inspiration for, apostolic or other office, but must be the universal possession of all Christian men and women. Ye,' says another Apostle, speaking to the whole democracy of the Christian Church, and not to any little group of selected aristocrats therein ye have an unction from the Holy One,' and every man and woman who has a living grasp of the living Christ, receives from Him this great gift.

Then, notice further that this anointing by a Divine Spirit, which is a true source of life to those that possess it, is derived from, and parallel with, Christ's anointing. We use the word Christ' as a proper name, and forget what it means. The Christ' is the Anointed One. And do you think that it was a mere accident, or the result of a scanty vocabulary, which compelled the Apostle, in these two contiguous clauses, to use cognate words when he said:--He that stablisheth us with you in the Anointed, and hath anointed us, is God'? Did he not mean to say thereby, Each of you in a very true sense, if you are a Christian, is a Christ'? You, too, are anointed; you, too, are God's Messiahs. On you in a measure the same Spirit rests which dwelt without measure in Him. The chief of Christ's gifts to the Church is the gift of His own life. All His brethren are anointed with the oil that was poured upon His head, even as the ell upon Aaron's locks percolated to the very skirts of his garments. Being anointed with the anointing which was on Him, all His people may claim an identity of nature, may hope for an identity of destiny, and are bound to a prolongation of part of His function and a similarity of character. If He by that anointing was made Prophet, Priest, and King for the world, all His children partake of these offices in subordinate but real fashion, and are prophets to make God known to men, priests to offer up spiritual sacrifices, and kings at least over themselves, and, if they will, over a world which obeys and serves those that serve and love God. Ye are anointed, Messiahs' and Christs,' by derivation of the life of Jesus Christ.

And if these things be true, it is plain enough how this divine unction, which is granted to all Christians, lies at the root of steadfastness.

We talk a great deal about the gentleness of Christ; we cannot celebrate it too much, but we may forget that it is the gentleness of strength. We do not sufficiently mark the masculine features in that character, the tremendous tenacity of will, the inflexible fixedness of purpose, the irremovable constancy of obedience in the face of all temptations to the contrary. The figure that rises before us is that of the Christ yearning over weaklings far oftener than it is that of the Christ with knitted brow, and tightened lips, and far-off gazing eye, steadfastly setting His face to go to Jerusalem,' and followed as He pressed up the rocky road from Jericho, by that wondering group, astonished at the rigidity of purpose that was stamped on His features. That Christ gives us His Spirit to make us tenacious, constant, righteously obstinate, inflexible in the pursuit of all that is lovely and of good report, like Himself. That Divine Spirit will cure the fickleness of our natures; for our wills are never fixed till they are fixed in obedience, and never free until they elect to serve Him. That Divine Spirit will cure the wandering of our hearts and bind us to Himself. It will lift us above the selfish and cowardly dependence on externals and surroundings, men and things, in which we are all tempted to live. We are all too like aneroid barometers, that go up and down with every variation era foot or two in our level, but if we have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us, it will cut the bonds that bind us to the world, and give us possession of a deeper love than can be sustained by, or is derived from, these superficial sources. The true possession of the Divine Spirit, if I might use such a metaphor, sets a man on an insulating stool, and all the currents that move round about him are powerless to reach him. If we have that Divine Spirit within us, it will give us an experience of the preciousness and the truth, the certitude and the sweetness, of Christ's Gospel, which will make it impossible that we should ever' cast away the confidence which has such recompense of reward.' No man will be surely bound to the truth and person of Christ with bonds that cannot be snapped, except he who in his heart has the knowledge of Him which is possession, and by the gift of the Divine Spirit is knit to Jesus Christ.

So, dear friends, whilst the world is full of wise words about steadfastness, and exalts determination of character and fixity of purpose, rightly, as the basis of much good, our Gospel comes to us poor, light, thistledown creatures, and lets us see how we can be steadfast and settled by being fastened to a steadfast and settled Christ. When storms are raging they lash light articles on deck to hold fasts. Let us lash ourselves to the abiding Christ, and we, too, shall abide.

II. In The Next Place, Notice The Aim Or Purpose Of This Christian Steadfastness.

He stablisheth us with you in Christ,' or as the original has it even more significantly, into or unto Christ.' Now that seems to me to imply two things--first, that our steadfastness, made possible by our possession of that Divine Spirit, is steadfastness in our relations to Jesus Christ. We are established in reference or in regard to Him. In other words, what Paul here means is, first, a fixed conviction of the truth that He is the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and my Saviour. That is the first step. Men who are steadfast without their intellect guiding and settling the steadfastness are not steadfast, but obstinate and pigheaded. We are meant to be guided by our understandings, and no fixity is anything better than the immobility of a stone, unless it be based upon a distinct and whole-brained intellectual acceptance of Jesus Christ as the All-in-all for us, for life and death, for inward and outward being.

Paul means, next, a steadfastness in regard to Christ in our trust and love Surely if from Him there is for ever streaming out an unbroken flow of tenderness, there should be ever on our sides an equally unbroken opening of our hearts for the reception of His love, and an equally uninterrupted response to it in our grateful affection. There can be no more damning condemnation of the vacillations and fluctuations of Christian men's affections than the steadfastness of Christ's love to them. He loves ever; He is unalterable in the communication and effluence of His heart. Surely it is most fitting that we should be steadfast in our devotion and answering love to Him. And Paul means not only fixedness of intellectual conviction and continuity of loving response, but also habitual obedience, which is always ready to do His will.

So we should answer His Yea!' with our Amen!' and having an unchanging Christ to rest upon, we should rest upon Him unchanging. The broken, fluctuating affections and trusts and obediences which mark so much of the average Christian life of this day are only too sad proofs of how scant our possession of that Spirit of steadfastness must be supposed to be. God's Yea' is answered by our faltering Amen'; God's truth is hesitatingly accepted; God's love is partially returned; God's work is slothfully and negligently done. Be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.'

Another thought is suggested by these words--viz. that such steadfastness as we have been trying to describe has for its result a deeper penetration into Jesus Christ and a fuller possession of Him. The only way by which we can grow nearer and nearer to our Lord is by steadfastly keeping beside Him. You cannot get the spirit of a landscape unless you sit down and gaze, and let it soak into you. The cheap tripper never sees the lake. You cannot get to know a man until you summer and winter with him. No subject worth studying opens itself to the hasty glance. Was it not Sir Isaac Newton who used to say, I have no genius, but I keep a subject before me ? Abide in Me; as the branch cannot bear fruit except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in Me.' Continuous, steadfast adhesion to Him is the condition of growing up into His likeness, and receiving more and more of His beauty into our waiting hearts. Wait on the Lord; wait, I say, on the Lord.'

III. Lastly, Notice The Very Humble And Common Place Sphere In Which The Christian Steadfastness Manifests Itself.

It was nothing of more importance than that Paul had said he was going to Corinth, and did not, on which he brings all this array of great principles to bear. From which I gather just this thought, that the highest gifts of God's grace and the greatest truths of God's Word are meant to regulate the tiniest things in our daily life. It is no degradation to the lightning to have to carry messages. It is no profanation of the sun to gather its rays into a burning glass to light a kitchen fire with. And it is no unworthy use of the Divine Spirit that God gives to His children, to say it will keep a man from hasty and precipitate decisions as to little things in life, and from chopping and changing about, with a levity of purpose and without a sufficient reason. If our religion is not going to influence the trifles, what is it going to influence? Our life is made up of trifles, and if these are not its field, where is its field? You may be quite sure that, if your religion does not influence the little things, it will never influence the great ones. If it has not power enough to guide the horses when they are at a slow, sober walk, what do you think it will do when they are at a gallop and plunging? He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.' So let us see to two things--first, that all our religion is worked into our life, for only so much of it as is so inwrought is our religion--and, second, that all our life is brought under the sway of motives derived from our religion; for only in proportion as it is, will it be pure and good.

And as regards this special virtue and prime quality of steadfastness and fixedness of purpose, you can do no good in the world without it. Unless a man can hold his own, and turn an obstinate negative to the temptations that lie thick about him, he will never come to any good at all, either in this life or in the next. The basis of all excellence is a wholesome disregard of externals, and the cultivation of a strong self-reliant and self-centred, because God-trusting and Christ-centred, will. And I tell you, especially you young men and women, if you want to do or be anything worth doing or being, you must try to get your natures hardened into being steadfast, unmovable.' There is only one infallible way of doing it, and that is to let the strong Son of God' live in you, and in Him to find your strength for resistance, your strength for obedience, your strength for submission. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.'

There are two types of men in the world. The one has his emblem in the chaff, rootless, with no hold, swept out of the threshing-floor by every gust of wind. That the picture of many whose principles lie at the mercy of the babble of tongues round about them, whose rectitude goes at a puff of temptation, like the smoke out of a chimney when the wind blows; who have no will for what is good, but live as it happens. The other type of man has his emblem in the tree, rooted deep, and therefore rising high, with its roots going as far underground as its branches spread in the blue, and therefore green of leaf and rich of fruit. We are made partakers of Christ if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence, steadfast until the end.'

Maclaren: 2Co 1:22

Seal And Earnest

Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts' 2 Cor. 1:22.

THERE are three strong metaphors in this and the preceding verse--anointing,' sealing,' and giving the earnest'--all of which find their reality in the same divine act. These three metaphors all refer to the same subject, and what that subject is sufficiently explained in the last of them. The earnest' consists of the Spirit in our hearts,' and the same explanation might have been appended to both the preceding clauses, for the anointing' is the anointing of the Spirit, and the seal' is the seal of the Spirit. Further, these three metaphors all refer to one and the same act. They are not three things, but three aspects of one thing, just as a sunbeam might be regarded either as the source of warmth, or of light, or of chemical action. So the one gift of the one Spirit, anoints,' seals,' and is the earnest.' Further, these three metaphors all declare a universal prerogative of Christians. Every man that loves Jesus Christ has the Spirit in the measure of his faith, and if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His.'

I. Note The First Metaphor In The Text, The Seal' Of The Spirit.

A seal is impressed upon a recipient material made soft by warmth, in order to leave there a copy of itself. Now it is not fanciful, nor riding a metaphor to death, when I dwell upon these features of the emblem in order to suggest their analogies in Christian life. The Spirit of God comes into our spirits, and by gentle contact impresses upon the material, which was intractable until it was melted by the genial warmth of faith and love, the likeness of Himself, but yet so as that prominences correspond to the hollows, and what is in relief in the one is sunk in the other. Expand that general statement for a moment or two.

The effect of all the divine indwelling, which is the characteristic gift of Christ to every Christian soul, is to mould the recipient into the image of the divine inhabitant. There is in the human spirit--such are its dignity amidst its ruins, and its nobility shining through its degradation--a capacity of receiving that image of God which consists not only in voluntary and intelligent action and the consciousness of personal being, but in the love of the things that are fair, and in righteousness, and true holiness. His Spirit, entering into a heart, will make that heart wise with its own wisdom, strong with some infusion of its own strength, gracious with some drops of its own grace, gentle with some softening from its own gentleness, holy with some purity reflected from its own transcendent whiteness. The Spirit, which is life, moulds the heart into which it enters to a kindred, and, therefore, similar life.

There are, however, characteristics in this seal' of the Spirit which are not so much copies as correspondences, That is to say, just as what is convex in the seal is concave in the impression, and vice versa, so, when that Divine Spirit comes into our spirits, its promises will excite faith, its gifts will breed desire; to every bestowment there will answer an opening receptivity. Recipient love will correspond to the love that longs to dispense, the sense of need to the divine fulness and sufficiency, emptiness to abundance, prayers to promises; the cry Abba! Father'! the yearning consciousness of sonship, to the word Thou art My Son'; and the upward eye of aspiration and petition, and necessity, and waiting, to the downward glance of love bestowing itself. The open heart answers to the extended hand, and the seal which God's Spirit impresses upon the heart that is submitted to it, has the two-fold character of resemblance in moral nature and righteousness, and of correspondence as regards the mysteries of the converse between the recipient man and the giving God.

Then, mark that the material is made capable of receiving the stamp, because it is warmed and softened. That is to say, faith must prepare the heart for the sanctifying indwelling of that Divine Spirit. The hard wax may be struck with the seal, but it leaves no trace. God does not do with man as the coiner does with his blanks, put them cold into a press, and by violence from without stamp an image upon them, but He does as men do with a seal, warms the wax first, and then, with a gentle, firm touch, leaves the likeness there. So, brother! learn this lesson: if you wish to be good, lie under the contact of the Spirit of righteousness, and see that your heart is warm.

Still further, note that this aggregate of Christian character, in likeness and correspondence, is the true sign that we belong to God. The seal is the mark of ownership, is it not? Where the broad arrow has been impressed, everybody knows that that is royal property. And so this seal of God's Divine Spirit, in its effects upon my character, is the one token to myself and to other people that I belong to God, and that He belongs to me. Or, to put it into plain English, the best reason for any man's being regarded as a Christian is his possession of the likeness and correspondence to God which that Divine Spirit gives. Likeness and correspondence, I say, for the one class of results is the more open for the observation of the world, and the other class is of the more value for ourselves. I believe that Christian people ought to have, and are meant by that Divine Spirit dwelling in them to have, a consciousness that they are Christians and God's children, for their own peace and rest and joy. But you cannot use that in demonstration to other people; you may be as sure of it as you will, in your inmost hearts, but it is no sign to anybody else. And, on the other hand, there may be much of outward virtue and beauty of character which may lead other people to say about a man: That is a good Christian man, at any rate,' and yet there may be in the heart an all but absolute absence of any joyful assurance that we are Christ's, and that He belongs to us. So the two facts must go together. Correspondence, the spirit of sonship which meets His taking us as sons, the faith which clasps the promise, the reception which welcomes bestowment, must be stamped upon the inward life. For the outward life there must be the manifest impress of righteousness upon my actions, if there is to be any real seal and token that I belong to Him. God writes His own name upon the men that are His. All their goodness, their gentleness, patience, hatred of evil, energy and strenuousness in service, submission in suffering, with whatsoever other radiance of human virtue may belong to them, are really His mark!'

There is no other worth talking about, and to you Christian men I come and say, Be very sure that your professions of inward communion and happy consciousness that you are Christ's are verified to yourself and to others by a plain outward life of righteousness like the Lord's. Have you got that seal stamped upon your lives, like the ball-mark that says,' This is genuine silver, and no plated Brummagem stuff'? Have you got that seal of a visible righteousness and every-day purity to confirm your assertion that you belong to Christ? Is it woven into the whole length of your being, like the scarlet thread that is spun into every Admiralty cable as a sign that it is Crown property? God's seal, visible to me and to nobody else, is my consciousness that I am His; but that consciousness is vindicated and delivered from the possibility of illusion or hypocrisy, only when it is checked and fortified by the outward evidence of the holy life which the Spirit of God has wrought.

Further, this sealing, which is thus the token of God's ownership, is also the pledge of security. A seal is stamped in order that there may be no tampering with what it seals; that it may be kept safe from all assaults, thieves, and violence. And in the metaphor of our text there is included this thought, too, which is also of an intensely practical nature. For it just comes to this--our true guarantee that we shall come at last into the sweet security and safety of the perfect state is present likeness to the indwelling Spirit and present reception of divine grace. The seal is the pledge of security, just because it is the mark of ownership. When, by God's Spirit dwelling in us, we are led to love the things that are fair, and to long after more possession of whatever things are of good report, that is like God's hoisting His flag upon a newly-annexed territory. And is He going to be so careless in the preservation of His property as that He will allow that which is thus acquired to slip away from Him? Does He account us as of so small value as to hold us with so slack a hand? But no man has a right to rest on the assurance of God's saving him into the heavenly kingdom, unless He is saving him at this moment from the devil and his own evil heart. And, therefore, I say the Christian character, in its outward manifestations and in its sweet inward secrets of communion, is the guarantee that we shall not fall. Rest upon Him, and He will hold you up. We are kept by the power of God unto salvation,' and that power keeps us and that final salvation becomes ours, through faith.'

II. Now, Secondly, Turn To The Other Emblem, That Earnest' Which Consists In Like Manner Of The Spirit.'

The' earnest,' of course, is a small portion of purchase-money, or wages, or contract-money, which is given at the making of a bargain, as an assurance that the whole amount will be paid in due time. And, says the Apostle, this seal is also an earnest. It not only makes certain God's ownership and guarantees the security of those on whom it is impressed, but it also points onwards to the future, and at once guarantees that, and to a large extent reveals the nature of it. So, then, we have here two thoughts on which I touch.

The Christian character and experience are the earnest of the inheritance, in the sense of being its guarantee, inasmuch as the experiences of the Christian life here are plainly immortal. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the objective and external proof of a future life. The facts of the Christian life, its aspirations, its communion, its clasp of God as its very own, are the subjective and inward proofs of a future life. As a matter of fact, if you will take the Old Testament, you will see that the highest summits in it, to which the hope of immortality soared, spring directly from the experience of deep and blessed communion with the living God. When the Psalmist said Thou wilt not leave my soul in Sheol; neither wilt Thou suffer Thy Holy One to see corruption,' he was speaking a conviction that had been floated into his mind on the crest of a great wave of religious enjoyment and communion. And, in like manner, when the other Psalmist said, Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever,' he was speaking of the glimpse that he had got of the land that was very far off, from the height which he had climbed on the Mount of fellowship with God. And for us, I suppose that the same experience holds good. Howsoever much we may say that we believe in a future life and in a heaven, we really grasp them as facts that will be true about ourselves, in the proportion in which we are living here in direct contact and communion with God. The conviction of immortality is the distinct and direct result of the present enjoyment of communion with Him, and it is a reasonable result. No man who has known what it is to turn himself to God with a glow of humble love, and to feel that he is not turning his face to vacuity, but to a Face that looks on him with love, can believe that anything can ever come to destroy that communion. What have faith, love, aspiration, resignation, fellowship with God, to do with death? They cannot be cut through with the stroke that destroys physical life, any more than you can divide a sunbeam with a sword. It unites again, and the impotent edge passes through and has effected nothing. Death can shear asunder many bonds, but that invisible bond that unites the soul to God is of adamant, against which his scythe is in vain. Death is the grim porter that opens the door of a dark hole and herds us into it as sheep are driven into a slaughter-house. But to those who have learned what it is to lay a trusting hand in God's hand, the grim porter is turned into the gentle damsel, who keeps the door, and opens it for light and warmth and safety to the hunted prisoner that has escaped from the dungeon of life. Death cannot touch communion, and the consciousness of communion with God is the earnest of the inheritance.

It is so for another reason also. All the results of the Divine Spirit's sealing of the soul are manifestly incomplete, and as manifestly tend towards completeness. The engine is clearly working now at half-speed. It is obviously capable of much higher pressure than it is going at now. Those powers in the Christian man can plainly do a great deal more than they ever have done here, and are meant to do a great deal more. Is this imperfect Christianity of ours, our little faith so soon shattered, our little love so quickly disproved, our faltering resolutions, our lame performances, our earthward clearings--are these things all that Jesus Christ's bitter agony was for, and all that a Divine Spirit is able to make of us? Manifestly, here is but a segment of the circle, in heaven is the perfect round; and the imperfections, so far as life is concerned, in the work of so obviously divine an Agent, cry aloud for a region where tendency shall become result, and all that it was possible for Him to make us we shall become. The road evidently leads upwards, and round that sharp corner where the black rocks come so near each other and our eyesight cannot travel, we may be sure it goes steadily up still to the top of the pass, until it reaches the shining table-lands whereof our God Himself is Sun and Moon,' and brings us all to the city set on a hill.

And, further, that divine seal is the earnest, inasmuch as itself is part of the whole. The truest and the loftiest conception that we can form of heaven is as being the perfecting of the religious experience of earth. The shilling or two, given to the servant in old-fashioned days, when he was hired, is of the same currency as the balance that he is to get when the year's work is done. The small payment to-day comes out of the same purse, and is coined out of the same specie, and is part of the same currency of the same kingdom, as what we get when we go yonder and count the endless riches to which we have fallen heirs at last. You have but to take the faith, the love, the obedience, the communion of the highest moments of the Christian life on earth, and free them from all their limitations, subtract from them all their imperfections, multiply them to their superlative possibility, and endow them with a continual power of growth, and stretch them out to absolute eternity, and you get heaven. The earnest is of a piece with the inheritance.

So, dear brethren, here is a gift offered for us all, a gift which our feebleness sorely needs, a gift for every timid nature, for every weak will, for every man, woman, and child beset with snares and fighting with heavy tasks, the offer of a reinforcement as real and as sure to bring victory as when, on that day when the fate of Europe was determined, after long hours of conflict, the Prussian bugles blew, and the English commander knew that (with the fresh troops that came on the field)victory was made certain. So you and I may have in our hearts the Spirit of God, the spirit of strength, the spirit of love and of a sound mind, the spirit of adoption, the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, to enlighten our darkness, to bind our hearts to Him, to quicken and energise our souls, to make the weakest among us strong, and the strong as an angel of God. And the condition on which we may get it is this simple one which the Apostle lays down; After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance.' The Christ, who is the Lord and Giver of the Spirit, has shown us how its blessed influences may be ours when, on the great day of the feast, He stood and cried with a voice that echoes across the centuries, and is meant for each of us, If any man thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth in Me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. This spake He of the Spirit which they that believe on Him should receive.'

MHCC: 2Co 1:1-11

We are encouraged to come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. The Lord is able to give peace to the troubled conscience, and to calm the raging passions of the soul. These blessings are given by him, as the Father of his redeemed family. It is our Saviour who says, Let not your heart be troubled. All comforts come from God, and our sweetest comforts are in him. He speaks peace to souls by granting the free remission of sins; and he comforts them by the enlivening influences of the Holy Spirit, and by the rich mercies of his grace. He is able to bind up the broken-hearted, to heal the most painful wounds, and also to give hope and joy under the heaviest sorrows. The favours God bestows on us, are not only to make us cheerful, but also that we may be useful to others. He sends comforts enough to support such as simply trust in and serve him. If we should be brought so low as to despair even of life, yet we may then trust God, who can bring back even from death. Their hope and trust were not in vain; nor shall any be ashamed who trust in the Lord. Past experiences encourage faith and hope, and lay us under obligation to trust in God for time to come. And it is our duty, not only to help one another with prayer, but in praise and thanksgiving, and thereby to make suitable returns for benefits received. Thus both trials and mercies will end in good to ourselves and others.

MHCC: 2Co 1:12-14

Though, as a sinner, the apostle could only rejoice and glory in Christ Jesus, yet, as a believer, he might rejoice and glory in being really what he professed. Conscience witnesses concerning the steady course and tenor of the life. Thereby we may judge ourselves, and not by this or by that single act. Our conversation will be well ordered, when we live and act under such a gracious principle in the heart. Having this, we may leave our characters in the Lord's hands, but using proper means to clear them, when the credit of the gospel, or our usefulness, calls for it.

MHCC: 2Co 1:15-24

The apostle clears himself from the charge of levity and inconstancy, in not coming to Corinth. Good men should be careful to keep the reputation of sincerity and constancy; they should not resolve, but on careful thought; and they will not change unless for weighty reasons. Nothing can render God's promises more certain: his giving them through Christ, assures us they are his promises; as the wonders God wrought in the life, resurrection, and ascension of his Son, confirm faith. The Holy Spirit makes Christians firm in the faith of the gospel: the quickening of the Spirit is an earnest of everlasting life; and the comforts of the Spirit are an earnest of everlasting joy. The apostle desired to spare the blame he feared would be unavoidable, if he had gone to Corinth before he learned what effect his former letter produced. Our strength and ability are owing to faith; and our comfort and joy must flow from faith. The holy tempers and gracious fruits which attend faith, secure from delusion in so important a matter.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:1-2

This is the introduction to this epistle, in which we have,

I. The inscription; and therein, 1. The person from whom it was sent, namely, Paul, who calls himself an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. The apostleship itself was ordained by Jesus Christ, according to the will of God; and Paul was called to it by Jesus Christ, according to the will of God. He joins Timotheus with himself in writing this epistle; not because he needed his assistance, but that out of the mouth of two witnesses the word might be established; and this dignifying Timothy with the title of brother (either in the common faith, or in the work of the ministry) shows the humility of this great apostle, and his desire to recommend Timothy (though he was then a young man) to the esteem of the Corinthians, and give him a reputation among the churches. 2. The persons to whom this epistle was sent, namely, the church of God at Corinth: and not only to them, but also to all the saints in all Achaia, that is, to all the Christians who lived in the region round about. Note, In Christ Jesus no distinction is made between the inhabitants of city and country; all Achaia stands upon a level in his account.

II. The salutation or apostolical benediction, which is the same as in his former epistle; and therein the apostle desires the two great and comprehensive blessings, grace and peace, for those Corinthians. These two benefits are fitly joined together, because there is no good and lasting peace without true grace; and both of them come from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the procurer and dispenser of those benefits to fallen man, and is prayed to as God.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:3-6

After the foregoing preface, the apostle begins with the narrative of God's goodness to him and his fellow-labourers in their manifold tribulations, which he speaks of by way of thanksgiving to God, and to advance the divine glory (2Co 1:3-6); and it is fit that in all things, and in the first place, God be glorified. Observe,

I. The object of the apostle's thanksgiving, to whom he offers up blessing and praise, namely, the blessed God, who only is to be praised, whom he describes by several glorious and amiable titles. 1. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: ho Theos kai patēr kuriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou . God is the Father of Christ's divine nature by eternal generation, of his human nature by miraculous conception in the womb of the virgin, and of Christ as God-man, and our Redeemer, by covenant-relation, and in and through him as Mediator our God and our Father, Joh 20:17. In the Old Testament we often meet with this title, The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, to denote God's covenant-relation to them and their seed; and in the New Testament God is styled the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to denote his covenant-relation to the Mediator and his spiritual seed. Gal 3:16. 2. The Father of mercies. There is a multitude of tender mercies in God essentially, and all mercies are from God originally: mercy in his genuine offspring and his delight. He delighteth in mercy, Mic 7:18. 3. The God of all comfort; from his proceedeth the COMFORTER, Joh 15:26. He giveth the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts, 2Co 1:22. All our comforts come from God, and our sweetest comforts are in him.

II. The reasons of the apostle's thanksgivings, which are these: -

1. The benefits that he himself and his companions had received from God; for God had comforted them in all their tribulations, 2Co 1:4. In the world they had trouble, but in Christ they had peace. The apostles met with many tribulations, but they found comfort in them all: their sufferings (which are called the sufferings of Christ, 2Co 1:5, because Christ sympathized with his members when suffering for his sake) did abound, but their consolation by Christ did abound also. Note, (1.) Then are we qualified to receive the comfort of God's mercies when we set ourselves to give him the glory of them. (2.) Then we speak best of God and his goodness when we speak from our own experience, and, in telling others, tell God also what he has done for our souls.

2. The advantage which others might receive; for God intended that they should be able to comfort others in trouble (2Co 1:4), by communicating to them their experiences of the divine goodness and mercy; and the sufferings of good men have a tendency to this good end (2Co 1:6) when they are endued with faith and patience. Note, (1.) What favours God bestows on us are intended not only to make us cheerful ourselves, but also that we may be useful to others. (2.) If we do imitate the faith and patience of good men in their afflictions, we may hope to partake of their consolations here and their salvation hereafter.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:7-11

In these verses the apostle speaks for the encouragement and edification of the Corinthians; and tells them (2Co 1:7) of his persuasion or stedfast hope that they should receive benefit by the troubles he and his companions in labour and travel had met with, that their faith should not be weakened, but their consolations increased. In order to this he tells them, 1. What their sufferings had been (2Co 1:8): We would not have you ignorant of our trouble. It was convenient for the churches to know what were the sufferings of their ministers. It is not certain what particular troubles in Asia are here referred to; whether the tumult raised by Demetrius at Ephesus, mentioned Acts 19, or the fight with beasts at Ephesus, mentioned in the former epistle (1Co 15:32), or some other trouble; for the apostle was in deaths often. This however is evident, that they were great tribulations. They were pushed out of measure, to a very extraordinary degree, above the common strength of men, or of ordinary Christians, to bear up under them, insomuch that they despaired even of life (2Co 1:8), and thought they should have been killed, or have fainted away and expired. 2. What they did in their distress: They trusted in God. And they were brought to this extremity in order that they should not trust in themselves but in God, 2Co 1:9. Note, God often brings his people into great straits, that they may apprehend their own insufficiency to help themselves, and may be induced to place their trust and hope in his all-sufficiency. Our extremity is God's opportunity. In the mount will the Lord be seen; and we may safely trust in God, who raiseth the dead, 2Co 1:9. God's raising the dead is a proof of his almighty power. He that can do this can do any thing, can do all things, and is worthy to be trusted in at all times. Abraham's faith fastened upon this instance of the divine power: He believed God who quickeneth the dead, Rom 4:17. If we should be brought so low as to despair even of life, yet we may then trust in God, who can bring back not only from the gates, but from the jaws, of death. 3. What the deliverance was that they had obtained; and this was seasonable and continued. Their hope and trust were not in vain, nor shall any who trust in him be ashamed. God had delivered them, and did still deliver them, 2Co 1:10. Having obtained help of God, they continued to that day, Act 26:22. 4. What use they made of this deliverance: We trust that he will yet deliver us (2Co 1:10), that God will deliver to the end, and preserve to his heavenly kingdom. Note, Past experiences are great encouragements to faith and hope, and they lay great obligations to trust in God for time to come. We reproach our experiences if we distrust God in future straits, who hath delivered as in former troubles. David, even when a young man, and when he had but a small stock of experiences, argued after the manner of the apostle here, 1Sa 17:37. 5. What was desired of the Corinthians upon this account: That they would help together by prayer for them (2Co 1:11), by social prayer, agreeing and joining together in prayer on their behalf. Note, our trusting in God must not supersede the use of any proper and appointed means; and prayer is one of those means. We should pray for ourselves and for one another. The apostle had himself a great interest in the throne of grace, yet he desires the help of others' prayers. If we thus help one another by our prayers, we may hope for an occasion of giving thanks by many for answer of prayer. And it is our duty not only to help one another with prayer, but in praise and thanksgiving, and thereby to make suitable returns for benefits received.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:12-14

The apostle in these verses attests their integrity by the sincerity of their conversation. This he does not in a way of boasting and vain-glory, but as one good reason for desiring the help of prayer, as well as for the more comfortably trusting in God (Heb 13:18), and for the necessary vindication of himself from the aspersions of some persons at Corinth, who reproached his person and questioned his apostleship. Here,

I. He appeals to the testimony of conscience with rejoicing (2Co 1:12), in which observe, 1. The witness appealed to, namely, conscience, which is instead of a thousand witnesses. This God's deputy in the soul, and the voice of conscience is the voice of God. They rejoiced in the testimony of conscience, when their enemies reproached them, and were enraged against them. Note, The testimony of conscience for us, if that be right and upon good grounds, will be matter of rejoicing at all times and in all conditions. 2. The testimony this witness gave. And here take notice, Conscience witnessed, (1.) Concerning their conversation, their constant course and tenour of life: by that we may judge of ourselves, and not by this or that single act. (2.) Concerning the nature or manner of their conversation; that it was in simplicity and godly sincerity. This blessed apostle was a true Israelite, a man of plain dealing; you might know where to have him. He was not a man who seemed to be one thing and was another, but a man of sincerity. (3.) Concerning the principle they acted from in all their conversation, both in the world and towards these Corinthians; and that was not fleshly wisdom, nor carnal politics and worldly views, but it was the grace of God, a vital gracious principle in their hearts, that cometh from God, and tendeth to God. Then will our conversation be well ordered when we live and act under the influence and command of such a gracious principle in the heart.

II. He appeals to the knowledge of the Corinthians with hope and confidence, 2Co 1:13, 2Co 1:14. Their conversation did in part fall under the observation of the Corinthians; and these knew how they behaved themselves, how holily, and justly, and unblamably; they never found any thing in them unbecoming an honest man. This they had acknowledged in part already, and he doubted not but they would still do so to the end, that is, that they would never have any good reason to think or say otherwise of him, but that he was an honest man. And so there would be mutual rejoicing in one another. We are your rejoicing, even as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. Note, It is happy when ministers and people do rejoice in each other here; and this joy will be complete in that day when the great Shepherd of the sheep shall appear.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:15-24

The apostle here vindicates himself from the imputation of levity and inconstancy, in that he did not hold his purpose of coming to them at Corinth. His adversaries there sought all occasions to blemish his character, and reflect upon his conduct; and, it seemed, they took hold of this handle to reproach his person and discredit his ministry. Now, for his justification,

I. He avers the sincerity of his intention (2Co 1:15-17), and he does this in confidence of their good opinion of him, and that they would believe him, when he assured them he was minded, or did really intend, to come to them, and that with the design, not that he might receive, but that they might receive a second benefit, that is, a further advantage by his ministry. He tells them that he had not herein used lightness (2Co 1:17), that, as he aimed not at any secular advantage to himself (for his purpose was not according to the flesh, that is, with carnal views and aims), so it was not a rash and inconsiderate resolution that he had taken up, for he had laid his measures thus of passing by them to Macedonia, and coming again to them from Macedonia in his way to Judea (2Co 1:16), and therefore they might conclude that it was for some weighty reasons that he had altered his purpose; and that with him there was not yea yea, and nay nay, 2Co 1:17. He was not to be accused of levity and inconstancy, nor a contradiction between his words and intentions. Note, Good men should be careful to preserve the reputation of sincerity and constancy; they should not resolve but upon mature deliberation, and they will not change their resolves but for weighty reasons.

II. He would not have the Corinthians to infer that his gospel was false or uncertain, nor that it was contradictory in itself, nor unto truth, 2Co 1:18, 2Co 1:19. For if it had been so, that he had been fickle in his purposes, or even false in the promises he made of coming to them (which he was not justly to be accused of, and so some understand his expression, 2Co 1:18, Our word towards you was not yea and nay ), yet it would not follow that the gospel preached not only by him, but also by others in full agreement with him, was either false or doubtful. For God is true, and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is true. The true God, and eternal life. Jesus Christ, whom the apostle preached, is not yea and nay, but in him was yea (2Co 1:19), nothing but infallible truth. And the promises of God in Christ are not yea and nay, but yea and amen, 2Co 1:20. There is an inviolable constancy and unquestionable sincerity and certainty in all the parts of the gospel of Christ. If in the promises that the ministers of the gospel make as common men, and about their own affairs, they see cause sometimes to vary from them, yet the promises of the gospel covenant, which they preach, stand firm and inviolable. Bad men are false; good men are fickle; but God is true, neither fickle nor false. The apostle, having mentioned the stability of the divine promises, makes a digression to illustrate this great and sweet truth, that all the promises of God are yea and amen. For, 1. They are the promises of the God of truth (2Co 1:20), of him that cannot lie, whose truth as well as mercy endureth for ever. 2. They are made in Christ Jesus (2Co 1:20), the Amen, the true and faithful witness; he hath purchased and ratified the covenant of promises, and is the surety of the covenant, Heb 7:22. 3. They are confirmed by the Holy Spirit. He does establish Christians in the faith of the gospel; he has anointed them with his sanctifying grace, which in scripture is often compared to oil; he has sealed them, for their security and confirmation; and he is given as an earnest in their hearts, 2Co 1:21, 2Co 1:22. An earnest secures the promise, and is part of the payment. The illumination of the Spirit is an earnest of everlasting life; and the comforts of the Spirit are an earnest of everlasting joy. Note, The veracity of God, the mediation of Christ, and the operation of the Spirit, are all engaged that the promises shall be sure to all the seed, and the accomplishment of them shall be to the glory of God (2Co 1:20) for the glory of his rich and sovereign grace, and never-failing truth and faithfulness.

III. The apostle gives a good reason why he did not come to Corinth, as was expected, 2Co 1:23. It was that he might spare them. They ought therefore to own his kindness and tenderness. He knew there were things amiss among them, and such as deserved censure, but was desirous to show tenderness. He assures them that this is the true reason, after this very solemn manner: I call God for a record upon my soul - a way of speaking not justifiable where used in trivial matters; but this was very justifiable in the apostle, for his necessary vindication, and for the credit and usefulness of his ministry, which was struck at by his opposers. He adds, to prevent mistakes, that he did not pretend to have any dominion over their faith, 2Co 1:24. Christ only is the Lord of our faith; he is the author and finisher of our faith, Heb 12:2. He reveals to us what we must believe. Paul, and Apollos, and the rest of the apostles, were but ministers by whom they believed (1Co 3:5), and so the helpers of their joy, even the joy of faith. For by faith we stand firmly, and live safely and comfortably. Our strength and ability are owing to faith, and our comfort and joy must flow from faith.

Barclay: 2Co 1:1-7

Behind this passage there is a kind of summary of the Christian life.

(i) Paul writes as a man who knows trouble to those who are in trouble. The word that he uses for affliction is thlipsis (2347). In ordinary Greek this word always describes actual physical pressure on a man. R. C. Trench writes, "When, according to the ancient law of England, those who wilfully refused to plead had heavy weights placed on their breasts, and were so pressed and crushed to death, this was literally thlipsis (2347)."

Sometimes there falls upon a man's spirit the burden and the mystery of this unintelligible world. In the early years of Christianity the man who chose to become a Christian chose to face trouble. There might well come to him abandonment by his own family, hostility from his heathen neighbours, and persecution from the official powers. Samuel Rutherford wrote to one of his friends, "God has called you to Christ's side, and the wind is now in Christ's face in this land: and seeing ye are with him ye cannot expect the lee-side or the sunny side of the brae." It is always a costly thing to be a real Christian, for there can be no Christianity without its cross.

(ii) The answer to this suffering lies in endurance. The Greek word for this endurance is hupomone (5281). The keynote of hupomone is not grim, bleak acceptance of trouble but triumph. It describes the spirit which can not only accept suffering but triumph over it. Someone once said to a sufferer, "Suffering colours life, doesn't it?" The sufferer replied, "Yes, but I propose to choose the colours" As the silver comes purer from the fire, so the Christian can emerge finer and stronger from hard days. The Christian is the athlete of God whose spiritual muscles become stronger from the discipline of difficulties.

(iii) But we are not left to face this trial and to provide this endurance alone. There comes to us the comfort of God. Between 2Co 1:3and 2Co 1:7the noun comfort or the verb to comfort occurs no fewer than nine times. Comfort in the New Testament always means far more than soothing sympathy. Always it is true to its root meaning, for its root is the Latin fortis and fortis means brave. Christian comfort is the comfort which brings courage and enables a man to cope with all that life can do to him. Paul was quite sure that God never sends a man a vision without the power to work it out and never sends him a task without the strength to do it.

Even apart from that, there is always a certain inspiration in any suffering which a man's Christianity may incur, for such suffering, as Paul puts it, is the overflow of Christ's suffering reaching to us. It is a sharing in the suffering of Christ. In the old days of chivalry, the knights used to come demanding some specially difficult task, in order that they might show their devotion to the lady whom they loved. To suffer for Christ is a privilege. When the hard thing comes, the Christian can say, as Polycarp, the aged Bishop of Smyrna, said when they bound him to the stake, "I thank thee that thou hast judged me worthy of this hour."

(iv) The supreme result of all this is that we gain the power to comfort others who are going through it. Paul claims that the things which have happened to him and the comfort which he has received have made him able to be a source of comfort to others. Barrie tells how his mother lost her dearest son, and then he says, "That is where my mother got her soft eyes and why other mothers ran to her when they had lost a child." It was said of Jesus, "Because he himself has gone through it, he is able to help others who are going through it." (Heb 2:18). It is worth while experiencing suffering and sorrow if that experience will enable us to help others struggling with life's billows.

Barclay: 2Co 1:8-11

The most extraordinary thing about this passage is that we have no information at all about this terrible experience which Paul went through at Ephesus. Something happened to him which was almost beyond bearing. He was in such danger that he believed that sentence of death had been passed on him and that there was no escape, and yet, beyond this passing reference and some others like it in these letters, we have no account of what happened.

There is a very human tendency to make the most of anything that we have to go through. Often a person who has undergone a quite simple operation will make it a subject of conversation for a long time to come. H. L. Gee tells of two men who met to transact some business in days of war. The one was full of how the train in which he had travelled had been attacked from the air. He would not stop talking about the excitement, the danger, the narrow escape. The other in the end said quietly, "Well, let's get on with our business now. I'd like to get away fairly early because my house was demolished by a bomb last night."

People who have really suffered usually do not talk about it very much. King George the Fifth had as one of his rules of life, "If I have to suffer let me be like a well-bred animal and go and suffer in silence and alone." Paul made no parade of his sufferings, and we who have so much less to suffer should follow his example.

But Paul saw that the terrifying experience he had gone through had had one tremendous use--it had driven him back to God and demonstrated to him his utter dependence on him. The Arabs have a proverb, "All sunshine makes a desert." The danger of prosperity is that it encourages a false independence; it makes us think that we are well able to handle life alone. For every one prayer that rises to God in days of prosperity, ten thousand rise in days of adversity. As Lincoln had it, "I have often been driven to my knees in prayer because I had nowhere else to go." It is often in misfortune that a man finds out who are his true friends, and it often needs some time of adversity to show us how much we need God.

The outcome was that Paul had an unshakable confidence in God. He knew now beyond all argument what he could do for him. If God could bring him through that, he could bring him through anything. The joyful cry of the Psalmist is, "Thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling." (Psa 116:8.) What really converted John Bunyan was when he heard some old women sitting in the sun "talking about what God had done for their souls." The confidence of the Christian in God is not a thing of theory and speculation; it is a thing of fact and experience. He knows what God has done for him and therefore he is not afraid.

Finally, Paul asks for the prayers of the Corinthians. As we have noted before, the greatest of the saints is not ashamed to ask for the prayers of the least of the brethren. We may have very little to give our friends; but, however little of this world's goods we possess, we may give them the priceless treasure of our prayers.

Barclay: 2Co 1:12-14

Here we begin to catch the undertones of the accusations that the Corinthians were levelling against Paul and of the slanders with which they were trying to besmirch him.

(i) They must have been saying that there was more in Paul's conduct than met the eye. His answer is that he has lived with the holiness and the purity of God. There were no hidden actions in Paul's life. We might well add a new beatitude to the list, "Blessed is the man who has nothing to hide." It is an old jest to tell of how a man went from door to door saying, "Flee! All is discovered!" and how the most unlikely people fled. It is said that once an architect offered to build a Greek philosopher a house so constructed that it would be impossible to see into it. "I will give you double your fee," said the philosopher, "if you will build me a house into every room of which everyone can see." The word Paul uses for purity (eilikrineia, 1505) is most interesting. It may describe something which can bear the test of being held up to the light of the sun and looked at with the sun shining through it. Happy is the man whose every action will bear the light of day and who, like Paul, can claim that there are no hidden actions in his life.

(ii) There were those who were attributing hidden motives to Paul. His answer is that his whole conduct is dominated, not by calculating shrewdness, but by the grace of God. There were no hidden motives in Paul's life. Burns in another connection points out the difficulty of discovering "the moving why they did it." If we are honest, we will have to admit that we seldom do anything with absolutely unmixed motives. Even when we do something fine, there may be entangled with it motives of prudence, of prestige, of self-display, of fear, of calculation. Men may never see these motives, but, as Thomas Aquinas said, "Man regardeth the deed but God seeth the intention." Purity of action may be difficult, but purity of motive is still more difficult. Such purity can come to us only when we too can say that our old self has died and Christ lives in us.

(iii) There were those who said that Paul in his letters did not quite mean what he said. His answer was that there were no hidden meanings in his words. Words are odd things. A man may use them to reveal his thoughts or equally to conceal them. Few of us can honestly say that we mean to the full every word we say. We may say a thing because it is the right thing to say; we may say it for the sake of being agreeable; we may say it for the sake of avoiding trouble. James, who saw the dangers of the tongue more clearly than any man, said, "If any one makes no mistakes in what he says he is a perfect man." (Jam 3:2.)

In Paul's life there were no hidden actions, no hidden motives and no hidden meanings. That is indeed something to aim at.

Barclay: 2Co 1:15-22

At first sight this is a difficult passage. Behind it lies another accusation and slander against Paul. Paul had said that he would visit the Corinthians, but the situation had become so bitter that he postponed his visit so as not to give them pain (2Co 1:23). His enemies had promptly accused him of being the kind of man who made frivolous promises with a fickle intention and could not be pinned down to a definite yes or no. That was bad enough, but they went on to argue, "If we cannot trust Paul's everyday promises, how can we trust the things he told us about God?" Paul's answer is that we can rely on God and that there is no vacillation in Jesus between yes and no.

Then he puts the matter in a vivid phrase--"Jesus is the yes to every promise of God." He means this--had Jesus never come we might have doubted the tremendous promises of God, might have argued that they were too good to be true. But a God who loves us so much that he gave us his Son is quite certain to fulfil every promise that he ever made. He is the personal guarantee of God that the greatest and the least of his promises are all true.

Although the Corinthians were slandering Paul, there remains this salutary truth--the trustworthiness of the messenger affects the trustworthiness of the message. Preaching is always "truth through personality." And if a man cannot trust the preacher, he is not likely to trust the preacher's message. Amongst the Jewish regulations regarding the conduct and character of a teacher, it is laid down that he must never promise anything to a class which be cannot or will not do. This would be to accustom the class to falsehood. Here is a warning that promises should never be lightly given, for they may well be as lightly broken. Before a man gives a promise, he should count the cost of keeping it and make sure that he is able and willing to pay it.

Paul goes on to say two great things.

(i) It is through Jesus that we say "Amen" to the promises of God. We finish our prayers by saying, "through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." When we have read scripture we frequently conclude it by saying, "Amen." Amen means So let it be, and the great truth is that it is not just a formality and a bit of ritual; it is the word that expresses our confidence that we can offer our prayers with every confidence to God and can appropriate with confidence all his great promises, because Jesus is the guarantee that our prayers will be heard and that all the great promises are true.

(ii) Finally, Paul speaks about what the King James Version calls the earnest of the Spirit. The Greek word is arrabon (728). And an arrabon was the first instalment of a payment, paid as a guarantee that the rest was sure to follow. It is a common word in Greek legal documents. A woman selling a cow receives 1,000 drachmae as arrabon (728) that the rest of the purchase price will be paid. Some dancing girls being engaged for a village festival receive so much as arrabon (728), which will be included in the final payment, but which is a present guarantee that the contract will be honoured and the full money paid. A certain man writes to his master that he has paid Lampon, the mouse-catcher, an arrabon of 8 drachmae so that he will start work and catch the mice while they are still with young. It was the first instalment and the guarantee that the rest would be paid. Everyone knew this word. It is the same idea as is in the Scots word arles which was a token payment made when a man was employed or a house bought, and a guarantee that the full contract would be honoured. When Paul speaks of the Holy Spirit as an arrabon (728) given us by God, he means that the kind of life we live by the help of the Holy Spirit is the first instalment of the life of heaven and the guarantee that the fullness of that life will some day open upon us. The gift of the Holy Spirit is God's token and pledge of still greater things to come.

Barclay: 2Co 1:23-24

Here is the echo of unhappy things. As we have seen in the introduction, the sequence of events must have been this. The situation in Corinth had gone from bad to worse. The Church was tom with party divisions and there were those who denied the authority of Paul. Seeking to mend matters, Paul had paid a flying visit to Corinth. So far from mending things, that visit had exacerbated them and had nearly broken his heart. In consequence he had written a very severe letter of rebuke, written with a sore heart and through tears. It was just for that very reason that he had not fulfilled his promise to visit them again, for, as things were, the visit could only have hurt him and them.

Behind this passage lies the whole heart of Paul when he had to deal in severity with those he loved.

(i) He used severity and rebuke very unwillingly. He used them only when he was driven to use them and there was nothing else left to do. There are some people whose eyes are always focussed to find fault, whose tongues are always tuned to criticize, in whose voice there is always a rasp and an edge. Paul was not like that. In this he was wise. If we are constantly critical and fault-finding, if we are habitually angry and harsh, if we rebuke far more than we praise, the plain fact is that even our severity loses its effect. It is discounted because it is so constant. The more seldom a man rebukes, the more effective it is when he does. In any event, the eyes of a truly Christian man seek ever for things to praise and not for things to condemn.

(ii) When Paul did rebuke, he did it in love. He never spoke merely to hurt. There can be sadistic pleasure in seeing someone wince at a sharp and cruel word. But Paul was not like that. He never rebuked to cause pain; he always rebuked to restore joy. When John Knox was on his deathbed he said, "God knows that my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of those against whom I thundered my severest judgments." It is possible to hate the sin but love the sinner. The effective rebuke is that given with the arm of love round the other person. The rebuke of blazing anger may hurt and even terrify; but the rebuke of hurt and sorrowing love alone can break the heart.

(iii) When Paul rebuked, the last thing he wanted was to domineer. In a modern novel, a father says to his son, "I'll beat the fear of the loving God into you." The great danger which the preacher and the teacher ever incur is of coming to think that our duty is to compel others to think exactly as we do and to insist that if they do not see things as we see them, they must be wrong. The duty of the teacher is not to impose beliefs on other people, but to enable and to encourage them to think out their own beliefs. The aim is not to produce a pale copy of oneself, but to create an independent human being. One who was taught by that great teacher, A. B. Bruce, said, "He cut the cables and gave us a glimpse of the blue waters." Paul knew that as a teacher he must never domineer, although he must discipline and guide.

(iv) Finally, for all his reluctance to rebuke, for all his desire to see the best in others, for all the love that was in his heart, Paul nonetheless does rebuke when rebuke becomes necessary. When John Knox rebuked Queen Mary for her proposed marriage to Don Carlos, at first she tried anger and outraged majesty and then she tried "tears in abundance." Knox's answer was, "I never delighted in the weeping of any of God's creatures. I can scarcely well abide the tears of my own boys, whom my own hand correcteth, much less can I rejoice in Your Majesty's weeping. But I must sustain, albeit unwillingly, Your Majesty's tears rather than I dare hurt my conscience, or betray my commonwealth through my silence." Not seldom we refrain from rebuke because of mistaken kindness, or because of the desire to avoid trouble. But there is a time when to avoid trouble is to store up trouble and when to seek for a lazy or cowardly peace is to court a still greater danger. If we are guided by love and by consideration, not for our own pride but for the ultimate good of others, we will know the time to speak and the time to be silent.

Constable: 2Co 1:1-2

A. Salutation 1:1-2

This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistles and other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and a greeting.

"This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form to secular letters that have come down to us from the same period. But the differences are greater, and that in three respects. There is the firm assertion of Apostolic authority, the clear indication that those whom he addresses are not ordinary people but a consecrated society, and the spiritual character of the good wishes he sends them."⁷

1:1 Students of the book have suggested various explanations concerning why the apostle changed his name from Saul to Paul. Some say he did so to mark the spiritual conquest of Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:9).⁸ Others claim he did so to show himself the least of the apostles since "Paul" means "little" (cf. Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim. 1:15).⁹ Another suggestion is that he was small in physical stature.¹⁰ Perhaps he did so because the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Saul" was objectionable since it was identical with an adjective that meant "effeminate." He may have done so simply because it was customary for Roman citizens to bear a Roman name as well as one that reflected their own nationality.¹¹

Paul's use of the term "apostle" (lit. "one sent forth with orders")¹² so early in his salutation sets the tone for the entire epistle. It is mainly a vindication of his apostleship. He claimed apostolic authority at once.

The Lord's title is also significant though not unusual. Paul called Him Christ (God's "Anointed One" sent forth as the apostle from heaven; v. 20; cf. Heb. 3:1; John 20:21) and Jesus (God in action delivering His people from their sins; 5:19; cf. Matt. 1:21).

Paul claimed that his apostleship came to him "by the will of God," not by his own or the church's initiative (cf. John 1:13; Eph. 2:8). The gift and office of apostle were special in the early church. Only 12 individuals plus Paul possessed them (1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 1:21-22; 9:15). However "apostle" occurs elsewhere in the non-technical sense of anyone sent on God's great mission of evangelism and edification (cf. 8:23; Acts 14:4, 14; Phil. 2:25; et al.).

"In [Acts 14] vv. 4 and 14 Barnabas and Paul are referred to as the apostles'; this is a more general use of the term than that found elsewhere in Acts. Barnabas, although not one of the twelve, may have been one of the hundred and twenty believers of Ch. 1:15 and a witness of the resurrection of Christ. Here the word may have the sense missionaries' or commissioners'; apart from Paul's special and direct commissioning by Christ, he and Barnabas were commissioned by the church of Syrian Antioch to undertake their present work, at the direction of the Holy Spirit. But that Barnabas was an apostle like himself seems to be implied by Paul in 1 Cor. 9:6; Gal. 2:9f."¹³

The recipients of this epistle knew Timothy well (v.19, Acts 18:5). He had come to faith in Christ evidently through Paul's ministry in Lystra in Asia Minor (Acts 14:8-20; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2). He had accompanied Paul on his journeys from the second missionary journey on (Acts 16:1-3) and had gone to Corinth as the apostle's emissary (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10). Paul called Timothy simply a "brother."

Paul noted in passing that the church (Greek ekklesia, lit. "called out ones," the company of Christians)¹⁴ belongs to God. Even though it was "at Corinth" it was God's church. It did not belong to the Corinthians or their teachers. Therefore its primary allegiance must be to Him.

Corinth was an important commercial center. The city probably contained over a half-million inhabitants at this time.¹⁵ It stood on the narrow land bridge (isthmus) that connected the southern part of Greece (the Peloponnesus) with the northern part. The southern part and some of the northern part comprised the Roman province of Achaia while the province of Macedonia lay immediately to the north. Corinth was not only the chief city through which land commerce passed north and south, but it was the center for sea commerce and travelers east and west. To the east the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea brought ships to Corinth. From there stevedores transferred their cargoes overland a few miles to ships in the Corinthian Gulf of the Ionian Sea. This shortcut saved merchants the long trip around the southern coastline of Greece. Corinth was the capital of the province of Achaia and the headquarters of a Roman proconsul (governor). It had been the notorious center for the immoral worship of the goddess Aphrodite, and its population was cosmopolitan consisting of Romans, Greeks, Orientals, and Jews.

Paul and his missionary band had established a church in Corinth on his second missionary journey (Acts 18). Jews and Gentiles composed it. Paul labored in Corinth a year and a half then. Due to the influence of its culture as well as that of false teachers the church experienced many temptations and difficulties. Paul's dealings with this church following its founding were as follows. However, there is considerable debate among scholars over some of these points because references in the New Testament are incomplete.

1. Paul wrote a letter to the church before he wrote 1 Corinthians warning the Christians there about associating with immoral people. They misunderstood what he said (1 Cor. 5:9-11).

2. After learning of this misunderstanding, as well as other problems and questions that the Christians had, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. He probably did so during his third missionary journey in the spring of 56 A.D.

3. When he heard additional disturbing reports Paul visited Corinth from Ephesus shortly after the Corinthians had received 1 Corinthians. Unfortunately he had to leave Corinth quickly because of opposition there.

4. On his return to Ephesus he sent a severe letter, probably by Titus, to straighten out matters (2 Cor. 2:4).

5. Paul received no word concerning the church's reaction to this severe letter until Titus met him in Macedonia. He then wrote 2 Corinthians in which he expressed relief at the church's response to his last letter. In it he also announced his intention to visit Corinth soon, possibly in the fall of 56 A.D. on his way to Jerusalem.

In summary, Paul seems to have visited Corinth three times, and the New Testament refers to four letters he wrote to this church.¹⁶

Paul called the addressees "saints" (Gr. hagioi, lit. "holy ones," those set apart for God, cf. 1 Cor. 1:2).¹⁷

"All Christians are holy' in virtue, not of their lives, but of their calling; they are set apart in a holy Society as servants and sons of the Holy God."¹⁸

Paul intended that the Corinthian Christians would read this epistle in the church, but he also wanted all the Christians in the province of Achaia to read it. We know that at this time there was another Achaian church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1) and perhaps one in nearby Athens (Acts 17:34).

1:2 This greeting expresses Paul's wish that God's grace and peace would be his readers' portion. He named these benefits in the introductions to each one of his epistles. He meant sustaining grace rather than saving grace and the peace of God compared to peace with God.

"In the protocol of salvation, recognized even in a salutation, grace always precedes peace. The former is the basis and foundation of the latter; therefore, the order cannot be changed. No man can have peace who has not previously experienced divine grace (cf. 8:9)."¹⁹

"Grace and peace, the favour of God and its fruits, comprehend all the benefits of redemption."²⁰

The combination of grace and peace in Paul's greeting here and elsewhere unites Greek and Semitic terms to form an unconventional greeting (cf. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; Phile. 3; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 1:2). Though the general structure of the salutation was typical of the day, the terms Paul used were uniquely Christian.²¹

The familiar language of this verse implies the deity of Jesus Christ. He is, along with God the Father, the source of grace and peace.

"This could not be so were He a created entity and not the co-eternal and consubstantial Son."²²

Furthermore He is "Lord." The Septuagint, which uses this title to translate the name "Yahweh" in the Old Testament, may have influenced Paul to use it of Jesus Christ. The contemporary religious terminology of oriental Hellenism also used this title to denote deity. Whatever the influences on Paul may have been the term "Lord" undoubtedly implied the deity of Christ.²³

Constable: 2Co 1:3-11

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

In this pericope Paul gave thanks to God for the comfort (vv. 3-7) and deliverance (vv. 8-11) that he had experienced recently. He wanted to enable his readers to appreciate what he as an apostle had endured for Christ and the superabounding comfort God supplies to compensate for all afflictions suffered for His sake.

"It [this section] is no mere amiable preamble intended only to cushion the sterner matters which the Apostle is shortly to broach. On the contrary, it is very much of a piece with the major theme of the opening portion of this epistle, namely, Paul's vindication of his own integrity."²⁴

Paul's main concern in this section was that his readers learn the values of his experiences, not just the facts concerning what had happened to him. Consequently he dealt with these first. He shared the effects of his experiences (vv. 3-7) and then told them of one experience (vv. 8-11).

Paul's almost invariable practice of following salutation with thanksgiving in his epistles was a common feature of secular letters in his day.²⁵ Compared with his other epistles, however, there is some difference in this thanksgiving.

"St. Paul usually thanks God for some grace bestowed on those whom he addresses, and hence his omission of the Thanksgiving in the stern letter to the Galatians; here and in 1 Tim. 1:12 he gives thanks for benefits bestowed on himself. But his readers are not forgotten (vv. 6, 7); it is largely on their account that he is so thankful."²⁶

Constable: 2Co 1:3-7

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

1:3 The Greek word translated "blessed" (eulogetos) occurs eight times in the New Testament mostly in Paul's writings. It always occurs with the person of God.²⁷ It expresses both gratitude and adoration (cf. Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3).

"Adored be God! is the expression of the highest veneration and thankfulness."²⁸

To Jesus Christ God is both God and Father (cf. John 20:17). In His humiliation as a man Jesus related to God as His God (cf. Mark 15:34). However within the Godhead God was Jesus' Father (cf. Heb. 10:7). In other words, God was the God of the dependent Jesus in His human nature, but He was the Father of the infinite Christ in His divine nature (cf. 11:31).

"In His eternal being, God was always His Father; in His incarnation as the Messiah, God was His God."²⁹

God is the "Father of mercies" in two senses. He is their source; all mercies we enjoy come from Him. Moreover He is the Father characterized by mercy, the merciful Father. The Greek construction permits both senses, and Paul probably intended both.

"Comfort" (Gr. paraklesis) is the key word in this section (vv. 3-7) occurring 10 times as a noun or a verb.³⁰ It means much more than mere sympathy. It communicates the idea of one person standing alongside another to encourage and support his friend. The same word describes the Holy Spirit ("Paraclete") who strengthens and guides us (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7). Christ, too, provides encouragement and support as our Advocate (1 John 2:1) and Helper (Heb. 2:18). Here it is the Father who comforts and consoles the afflicted.

"There are two things of which God is said to have the monopoly: He is the God of all grace' and He is the God of all comfort.' All grace comes from Him, all lasting comfort comes from Him."³¹

The double designation of God as the "Father of mercies" and the "God of all comfort" was very appropriate to Paul's situation. This description really sets the tone for the first nine chapters of this epistle.

This verse has a chiastic structure.

"The effect of this rhetorical device is to emphasize that the God who is here praised' is both (1) Father of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and (2) Father (= source) of mercies."³²

1:4 Paul's idea here seems to be as follows. No matter what variety of affliction we may be experiencing, and no matter what its intensity, God will provide strength and encouragement (comfort) that is adequate for our need (cf. 12:9). He will bestow more comfort than we have affliction.

"The present tense of the verb shows that this God of ours comforts us constantly and unfailingly, not spasmodically and intermittently; and He does so in all our affliction, not just in certain kinds of affliction."³³

Nevertheless God does not intend this encouragement and strength to end with our personal benefit. Its further purpose is to enable us to become God's agents in extending God's comfort to others in their afflictions. As God comforts us in all our afflictions, we are to comfort others in any and every one of theirs.

"There is no exception on God's side (Ps. xciv. 19), and there must be none on ours."³⁴

"That is the very genius of Christianity. Everything received is received on trust. Everything that you and I have from God we have on behalf of others--the comfort of God, the strengthening of God, the upholding of God, the revelation that God is able to make alive from the dead, and then presently salvation from that death which he had feared, on which he had looked with so much trembling."³⁵

"A life of ease is commonly stagnant. It is only those who suffer much and who experience much of the comfort of the Holy Ghost, who live much. Their life is rich in experience and in resources."³⁶

Similar experiences enable us to sympathize with others and thus be effective encouragers and comforters. Yet we would be exaggerating to say that only those who have suffered greatly know how to comfort the afflicted.

1:5 Paul personally experienced many afflictions and sorrows to which he began to refer here. However note that it is a particular kind of suffering to which he referred: the sufferings of Christ. These were the sufferings Paul was experiencing because he belonged to Christ and stood up for Christ in a hostile environment.

"Suffering which is the consequence of disobedience and selfishness has no blessing in it and cannot possibly be described as of Christ.'"³⁷

"Samuel Rutherford wrote to one of his friends, God has called you to Christ's side, and the wind is now in Christ's face in this land: and seeing ye are with Him ye cannot expect the lee-side or the sunny side of the brae [hillside].'"³⁸

Paul's point in this verse was this. Regardless of how great our sufferings for Christ may be God will not only match them but exceed them with His comfort, strength, and encouragement.

1:6 Later in this letter we shall see that the Corinthian Christians lacked appreciation for the afflictions Paul had been enduring in his ministry for them. Some of them had even concluded that such experiences were not appropriate for one who was an apostle. They believed that by participating in them Paul's apostleship was open to question. Therefore Paul began to deal with this unsympathetic attitude and the incorrect thinking behind it.

Paul had endured sufferings for the "comfort and salvation [deliverance]" of his brethren in Corinth. These sufferings enabled him to comfort them better so they would patiently bear up under their afflictions for Christ's sake. They could do so until God would grant them deliverance. He absorbed as many sufferings as he did so the Corinthians might not have to endure them.

1:7 The attitude of the Christians in Corinth could have caused Paul to despair, but he said he was confident that they would continue to function and grow as genuine fruits of God's grace (cf. Phil. 1:6). The basis for his confidence was the fact that they were suffering for Christ as he was. They were representing Christ in the world. More than that they would flourish because God's superabounding comfort (strength, encouragement) would cause them to stand and withstand the affliction they were experiencing.

Constable: 2Co 1:8-11

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

Paul's thanksgiving continues, but its focus shifts from the reason for thanksgiving to the situation that provided the occasion for it.

1:8 We cannot identify the precise affliction to which Paul referred certainly. This text and others in the New Testament do not give us enough information. The fact that Paul did not explain exactly what caused his affliction is significant. Evidently he wanted the Corinthians and us to focus on the intensity of the affliction as he felt it. This is what he emphasized here rather than the specific cause of his suffering. He spoke of his affliction as though the Corinthians knew about it, so probably they had more information about it than we do.

Commentators have conjectured what the specific problem may have been and have come up with many different possibilities. Perhaps Paul referred to fighting wild beasts at Ephesus³⁹, the uproar at Ephesus instigated by Demetrius⁴⁰, or a later outbreak of hostility against Paul at Ephesus.⁴¹ He may have had in mind various unspecified trials and plots against Paul's life⁴², a succession of persecutions in Asia⁴³, or an attempt to lynch Paul.⁴⁴ Perhaps he referred to shipwreck followed by a night and a day in the sea⁴⁵, anxiety over the state of the Corinthian church⁴⁶, a deadly sickness⁴⁷, or Paul's thorn in the flesh.⁴⁸

What we can say certainly about Paul's affliction is that the Corinthians failed to appreciate its intensity.

"Hence Paul writes to tell them not what it was, but how it had oppressed him beyond endurance."⁴⁹

It occurred in the Roman province of Asia (the western part of modern Turkey), and it would have been a fatal affliction had God not intervened. Furthermore it was a suffering "of Christ" (v. 5), connected somehow with Paul's ministry to the Corinthians (v. 6).

"Whatever this thlipsis [affliction] may have been, he hints that it was far worse than what the Corinthians had to endure."⁵⁰

1:9-10 The "sentence of death" was the assurance Paul had that he was going to die as a result of this affliction.

"The great lesson of this overwhelming affliction which had befallen him was that he (and all who are Christ's) should trust, not in self, but in God, the Raiser of the dead.'

". . . in the wake of this trying experience that was tantamount to death there followed a further experience that was tantamount to resurrection."⁵¹

"This is, indeed, a theme which provides a key to the whole epistle. Is Paul assailed by anguish of spirit? It is God who always leads him in triumph in Christ (3:13ff.). Do we have the treasure of divine glory in earthen vessels? It is that it may be seen that the exceeding greatness of the power is of God, and not of self (4:7ff.). Is the Apostle always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake? It is that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in his mortal flesh (4:10ff.). Is the outward man decaying? Yet the inward man is renewed day by day (4:16). . . . The climax is reached in the twelfth chapter where Paul explains how through the endurance of a thorn in the flesh' he was taught that God's grace is all-sufficient and that His power is made perfect in weakness (12:7ff.). This was a principle to which even our Lord submitted in providing our salvation, for He was crucified through weakness, but is alive through the power of God (13:4). It is a theme, therefore, which points to the unity of the epistle, and which in particular links the concluding to the opening chapter."⁵²

Some translations (e.g., AV) render verse 10, "delivered . . . does deliver . . . will deliver" (past, present, future). The better rendering (e.g., NASB, NIV) is, "delivered . . . will deliver . . . will yet deliver" (past, future, more distant future). In either case the meaning is clear. God delivered Paul from this past affliction, would continue to deliver him from the same or similar afflictions in the future, and would always deliver him.

"He says death' rather than peril of death,' because he had regarded himself as a dead man."⁵³

"When God puts His children into the furnace, He keeps His hand on the thermostat and His eye on the thermometer (1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Peter 1:6-7)."⁵⁴

Paul teaches us then that affliction does four things for us. It makes us more sympathetic. It gives us a greater appreciation for God's superabounding comfort and encouragement that He brings to us with the affliction. It causes us to trust in God more, and it gives us greater confidence in God's power and greater hope for the future.

1:11 Paul seems to have had no doubt that his brothers and sisters in Corinth would continue to pray for him.

". . . the Apostle is as secure of the intercession of the Corinthians as he is of God's protection, and the one will contribute to the other."⁵⁵

"Joining in helping" is the translation of a Greek word used only here in the New Testament, synypourgounton. It consists of three words meaning "with," "under," and "work." It paints a picture of laborers bowed down under some heavy burden that they are working hard together to lift.

"Intercessory prayer has great power, otherwise Paul would not so often solicit it on his own behalf, and enjoin the duty on his readers."⁵⁶

"There is no limit to the power of intercessory prayer; and though the display of God's mercy does not depend on it, we may be sure that He desires nothing more than that His people should be united in mutual intercession offered in the name of His Son. When such prayer is answered, it results in an outburst of praise and thanksgiving which redounds greatly to God's glory."⁵⁷

"In prayer, human impotence casts itself at the feet of divine omnipotence."⁵⁸

"My heart always rejoices when anyone writes or says to me, I am praying for you,' for I need to be prayed for. I am so forgetful about prayer myself; so many times when I should be praying I am busy at something else, and often if there is any power at all in my messages I know it is because somebody at home or in the audience is praying for me. One owes so much to the prayers of God's beloved people."⁵⁹

"Persons" (Gr. prosopon) is literally "faces." A literal rendering presents the attractive picture of many faces turned upward toward heaven offering thanks to God for His answers to the united prayers of Paul and his readers. This is doubtless the figure Paul wanted us to visualize in this verse.

From this introduction hopefully we have learned a greater appreciation of the comfort of God and the afflictions He allows us to experience in our service for Him.

"The Arabs have a proverb, All sunshine makes a desert.'"⁶⁰

"In this beautiful introduction Paul found occasion to be thankful in the most trying circumstances. Even suffering has benefits. It provides the occasion to experience God's comfort, to watch Him answer prayer, and to observe how believers can be strengthened in their Christian walk and witness by another's circumstances."⁶¹

"Comfort is the great word, comfort from God, comfort for others. So he prepared for whatever he had to say presently of rebuke, by a revelation of great tenderness. He called them to sympathize with him, and he assured them that God had sympathized with him, and that He would sympathize with them as they are asked to sympathize with him. It is the sympathy of sharing the activity of God, Who is the God of all comfort."⁶²

Constable: 2Co 1:12--8:1

II. ANSWERS TO INSINUATIONS ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF PAUL'S COMMITMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS AND TO THE MINISTRY 1:12--7:16

Second Corinthians is a rather difficult book to outline because it is a very personal letter.

"Traditionally, Paul's two letters to Timothy and one to Titus are called the Pastorals.' But 2 Corinthians has a strong claim to be recognized as the Pastoral Epistle par excellence, because it contains not pure' but applied' pastoralia."⁶³

Paul's purpose in writing was not to teach doctrine primarily, though he did so to a considerable extent. It was primarily to answer the criticisms of opponents who were seeking to undermine his ministry, especially in Corinth.

"Here it is his strong feeling rather than any deliberate arrangement that suggests the order of his utterances. Nevertheless, although exact analysis is seldom possible owing to digressions and repetitions, yet some divisions are fairly clear, and the letter becomes more intelligible when they are noted."⁶⁴

Constable: 2Co 1:12

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

In 2 Corinthians Paul was addressing a situation in which his own children in the faith were doubting his sincerity and motives. He, too, had doubts about their commitment to Jesus Christ and to himself as the Lord's apostle. Nevertheless Paul also voiced some strong convictions in this epistle and sought to move his doubting readers to a condition of greater faith. This section of the epistle introduces this tension.

"Part of the achievement of effective communicators lies in their persuading their audiences that stepping-stones (warrants) do exist by which they can move from doubt to conviction."⁶⁵

Constable: 2Co 1:12--2:5

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

In the present section (1:12-2:4) Paul sought to clarify the motives that led him to change his plans to visit the Corinthians. He did so to refute false accusations concerning him that were circulating in Corinth.

Constable: 2Co 1:12-14

The sincerity of Paul's conduct 1:12-14

In this first sub-section, which is transitional, Paul's intention was to convince the Corinthians that his recent actions arose from sincere motives.

1:12 He first claimed generally that his actions did not arise from the motives that drive unbelievers, namely self-serving ambition. This motivation seems wise to the carnal mind. However Paul's motives resulted from God's grace at work in his life. He viewed all of life from this perspective seeking not to advance self but the cause of Christ. He could say this unashamedly (with "proud confidence") and with a clear conscience. His motives had been holy⁶⁶ and sincere (not a mixture of proper and improper motives). Such had been his motivation toward all people and especially toward the Corinthians.

"The derivation of the word eilikrinia [sic], translated here and in ii. 17 by sincerity, is uncertain. It may refer to the cleansing process of rolling and shaking in a sieve, so that what is purged and winnowed in this way may be regarded as unadulterated (cf. the only other mention of the word by Paul in 1 Cor. v. 8). Or it may denote what is found to be unstained when examined in the sunlight. This latter connotation would convey the suggestion in this passage that Paul's character would stand the test of the searching gaze of God."⁶⁷

"What Paul means here to say is, that the virtues which distinguished his deportment in Corinth were not merely forms of his own excellence, but forms of the divine life; modes in which the Spirit of God which dwelt in him manifested itself."⁶⁸

"We might well add a new beatitude to the list, Blessed is the man who has nothing to hide.'"⁶⁹

1:13 Paul seems to have alluded to a criticism of himself here too. Evidently some were saying that to understand Paul's letters to them his readers had to read between the lines. They implied he really intended something other than what he had written or he was being deliberately obscure.⁷⁰ The apostle's claim here was that what he had intended was self-evident in his correspondence. There were no hidden meanings or messages. Paul wrote some things that were hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:15) and sometimes he was ironical, but he did not write one thing and mean another.

The second part of this verse probably goes with verse 14 rather than 13. Put a semicolon in the middle of verse 13 after "understand" and a comma at the end.⁷¹ "The end" refers to the end of the Corinthians' lives.

1:14 Even though Paul's correspondence with them had been straightforward, they had not grasped the greatness of his love for them and how proud he was of them (1 Cor. 4:14; cf. 1 Thess. 2:19-20). They had a legitimate right to be proud of Paul as their spiritual father as he had a right to be proud of them as his spiritual children (1 Cor. 4:15).

"This affirmation of affection not only corroborates the complete genuineness of his own attitude towards them, but attests his confidence regarding the authenticity of their profession of faith in the Gospel."⁷²

"The day of our Lord Jesus" is the day when their joy would be complete, namely at the judgment seat of Christ (5:10-11; cf. Phil. 2:16).

"St. Paul still believed that the Day of the Lord would come soon (1 Cor. vii. 29, x. 11, xv. 51), and had imparted this belief to his converts (see on Rom. xiii. 11-14, p. 379); it is therefore no remote date to which he appeals. Cf. 1 Thess. ii. 19."⁷³

Constable: 2Co 1:15-22

The consistency of Paul's conduct 1:15-22

Having claimed singleness of purpose in his dealings with the Corinthians, Paul proceeded to help them appreciate the fact that his behavior had been consistent with his Spirit-led purposes.

"Long-range plans may need to be modified as time goes by. In Paul's case, his original plans were made in good faith with the best information he had at the time. Circumstances had altered, however, and it was necessary to revise those plans."⁷⁴

1:15-16 In 1 Corinthians 16:5 Paul had told the Corinthians he planned to visit them after he had passed through Macedonia. Evidently he was not able to make that trip. There is no evidence in the New Testament that he ever followed this itinerary.

Here we have another plan that Paul evidently sent the Corinthians after he wrote 1 Corinthians. He says he intended to visit Corinth on his way to Macedonia, probably from Ephesus, his headquarters during this period of his ministry. He then planned to come back through Corinth as he travelled from Macedonia to Judea. This would enable him to see the Corinthians twice, a double visit and a double blessing. Paul referred to this plan as his original intention not counting what he had written in 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians 16:2-8 his projected itinerary had been Ephesus, Macedonia, Corinth, and then possibly Jerusalem. However, Paul was at this time in Macedonia having traveled there from Ephesus by way of Troas, not Corinth (2:13; 7:5; 8:1; 9:2, 4).

We can see why some in Corinth had concluded that since Paul had not followed through with his plans they could not count on his word and doubted his love for them.

1:17 Both rhetorical questions in this verse expect a negative answer, as the Greek text makes clear.

"Paul finds it incredible that any at Corinth could really have thought that a change in plan pointed to a change in character."⁷⁵

In making his plans Paul claimed not to have vacillated or to have followed his flesh (his sinful human nature) rather than the Holy Spirit.

"The charge that he is rebutting is probably that of blowing hot and cold with the same breath, and always having a retraction of what he says in reserve. . . . St. Paul contends that, though his plans changed, yet his principles did not; he was always loyal to the Gospel and to his converts."⁷⁶

"There is a strong likelihood that Paul was actually quoting some of the phrases used against him. The articles with lightness' ["vacillating" in NASB], yes, yes,' and no, no' can be understood as the lightness of which I am accused,' and the contradictory yesses and nos which you fault me for.'"⁷⁷

"Preaching is always truth through personality.' And if a man cannot trust the preacher he is not likely to trust the preacher's message. Amongst the Jewish regulations regarding the conduct and character of a teacher, it is laid down that a teacher must never promise anything to a class which he cannot or will not do. To do so is to accustom the class to falsehood."⁷⁸

1:18 Paul associated himself with God to reinforce his argument.

"The argument is one from ethical congruity.' God is faithful in the fact that the Gospel which is proclaimed by His messengers is not a Gospel of duplicity, full of misleading statements and of promises which are not fulfilled."⁷⁹

"When God speaks His positive does not carry a hidden negative. And so it is also with His chosen Apostle: his word to the Corinthians is not a mixture of yea and nay at the same time, but a faithful yea--sincere, honest, unambiguous."⁸⁰

"Apparent inconsistency or fickleness may be consistency on the highest level."⁸¹

1:19 Consistency is not only a mark of God the Father but also of God the Son.

"The truth asserted is that Christ, the Son of God, had not been manifested among them, or experienced by them to be unsatisfying or uncertain; but in him was yea. That is, he was simple truth. In him, i.e., in Christ, was truth. He proved himself to be all that was affirmed of him."⁸²

"Nothing could be more incongruous than to suspect of insincerity the Apostle whose entire being was dedicated to the service and proclamation of Him who is the Truth and the Same yesterday, today, and forever."⁸³

Silvanus was Silas who with Timothy joined Paul in Corinth shortly after his arrival there and helped him found the church along with Priscilla and Aquilla (Acts 17:14-15; 18:1-2, 5).

1:20 The promises referred to here are evidently the ones that have found their fulfillment in Christ. God was completely trustworthy, not 90% or 95% reliable in fulfilling these promises. Therefore the promises of God (v. 18) as well as the Son of God (v. 19) demonstrate consistency.

In view of the faithfulness of God, the only proper response is "Amen!" (lit. "Let it be so!"). The early Christians commonly spoke this word in unison in their meetings to affirm the truthfulness of what someone had said (1 Cor. 14:16). They addressed God through (in the name of) Jesus Christ.

"How illogical, then, while by their Amen' attesting the trustworthiness of God, to suspect the trustworthiness of the apostle who taught them to do so! Any charge of inconsistency must be leveled at them, not him."⁸⁴

"In short, Paul has argued in vv. 18-20 that as God is faithful, so, too, is Paul's word.' His personal word' is subsumed within his kerygmatic word,' God's faithfulness is to be seen (1) in the Son of God preached in Corinth as God's unambiguous, unretracted, and now-eternal Yes,' and (2) in the fact of all the promises of God having been kept in the Son of God, as proclaimed by the apostles. Likewise faithful' is the word' of Paul, the minister of the God who speaks unambiguously (cf. 1:13) and who keeps his promises. Their very existence is predicated on it."⁸⁵

1:21-22 The corporate vocal "Amen" draws attention to the unity of believers with one another as well as with God. Paul had developed this idea of sharing with the Corinthians to help them appreciate God's consistency and his own consistency in harmony with God's. Now he did so also to stimulate their own consistency in harmony with his and God's consistency.

God had established them together in Christ. Paul cited three evidences of their spiritual unity.

1. They had experienced anointing as had Christ (the "Anointed One"). This took place when they trusted Christ as their Savior. God poured out the Holy Spirit on them equipping them to serve acceptably to the glory of God (1 John 2:20, 27).

2. They had all experienced sealing. A seal in the Roman world signified ownership, authentication, and security. God stamps His own invisible mark on every believer (i.e., the Holy Spirit) and guarantees his or her preservation as God's child and servant (Eph. 1:13; 4:30; cf. John 6:27). Thus the seal of God, in addition to the promise of God, guarantees the believer's eternal security.⁸⁶

3. They had received the Holy Spirit as a down payment of the inheritance God has promised. The "pledge" was earnest money put down as a deposit that guaranteed the consummation of the contract (cf. Gen. 38:17-18). The Greek word (arrabona) also occurs in the Greek papyri (all kinds of common contemporary non-biblical writings in New Testament Greek) of an engagement ring. Such a pledge guarantees that the marriage will take place.⁸⁷

These three acts of God uniting us in Christ build to an emotional climax and reinforce the solidarity that we believers have with our consistent God.

"We should not overlook the references to the Trinity in 1:18-22: (1) the certainty given by God (v. 18); (2) the centrality found in Christ (vv. 18-20); (3) the certification established by the Spirit (vv. 21, 22)."⁸⁸

By way of review, Paul's point in this section (vv. 15-22) was that Christians normally behave like Christ. Yet we all know Christians who do not behave consistently. Why did Paul think that this appeal would make the Corinthians conclude that he had been consistent? He was not relying on this argument alone but was simply affirming his consistency and proving it consistent with the character of the One who had appointed him as an apostle.

"Paul has been showing how the accusation of insincerity and fickleness is entirely incompatible with the Corinthians' own personal knowledge of him and his word, as well as with the character of one to whom God has given stability, anointing, sealing, and the earnest of the Spirit. Now he explains why it was that he had found it desirable to make an alteration in his plans: it was to spare them--and the explanation is fortified by a solemn oath."⁸⁹

Constable: 2Co 1:23--2:5

The loving motivation of Paul's conduct 1:23-2:4

1:23 Paul's use of an oath should not disturb us.

"Our Lord's prohibition of swearing in Matt. 5:33ff. is directed against the casuistry that was prevalent among the Jews of His time, in accordance with which not only was swearing frequent in ordinary speech, but also oaths were regarded as not binding provided the Divine Name had not been invoked and even lies were condoned if unaccompanied by an oath. Such a situation was a grave scandal in the name of religion and truth."⁹⁰

Paul staked his soul on the truthfulness of his claim here.

He made his decision to postpone his visit because he believed a visit then would not be in the Corinthians' best interests.

"The gravity of his words indicates that Paul's absence from Corinth remained a matter of deep hurt."⁹¹

1:24 The preceding statement indicates that Paul took much responsibility for the Corinthians' welfare on himself. He hastened to clarify that it was as an apostle, not their lord, that he regarded himself and behaved toward them as he did (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1, 3). Furthermore Paul recognized that they needed no human lord since they were comparatively solid in their faith.

2:1 The chapter division is artificial. Paul now clarified what he did mean in 1:23.

When had Paul come to them in sorrow? There is no valid basis for describing his first visit to Corinth during which he established the church as a sorrowful one. He had experienced some hard times during the 18 months (Acts 18:11) he was there, but generally this visit was pleasant. Paul later referred to his next visit to Corinth as his third (12:14; 13:1). Consequently we have reference here to a second visit not recorded in the Book of Acts. The commentators disagree over whether it took place before or after the writing of 1 Corinthians. I believe the evidence indicates it took place after that writing.⁹²

Note that Paul "determined" not to come again in sorrow. This is not the language of a vacillator.

2:2 Who could make Paul glad if he came to them and made them sorrowful? No one could. The Corinthians certainly could not since he would have made them sorrowful. Paul's point was that if he came to them and made them sorrowful again he himself would be sorrowful since they were his source of joy. Consequently he decided to postpone his visit. Evidently if Paul had come to them as originally planned he would have had to rebuke or discipline them for some situation that existed in the church. Instead of doing this and producing sorrow he decided to wait and give them an opportunity to deal with the problem themselves.

2:3 Now Paul referred to a previous letter in which he said he told them he would not come to them again in sorrow. Is this a reference to 1 Corinthians?

Some commentators believe it is.⁹³ Nevertheless the lack of an explicit reference to not coming to them again in sorrow in that epistle throws some doubt on this interpretation.

Consequently other commentators have posited the existence of another letter. They believe it was similar to the former letter referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9 in that it is no longer extant, and that Paul spoke of it here.⁹⁴ This letter is a fairly recent invention by the commentators. Traditionally interpreters have understood the reference to be to 1 Corinthians. However the problem with that view as mentioned above is significant (cf. 7:8).

The identification of the letter referred to here does not affect the interpretation of Paul's words here however important it may be for other reasons. His reference to this former letter simply strengthens his point made in verse 2 that when he came to visit them again he wished to be a source of joy, not sorrow. He wanted them to make him joyful too.

"This does not mean merely that it would give them pleasure to see him happy, but also that obedience on their part, and the consequent purity and prosperity of the church, were as necessary to their happiness as to his."⁹⁵

2:4 Paul's affliction was probably the one referred to above (1:8-11). His anguish of heart doubtless arose both from his affliction and the condition of the Corinthian church. This verse is one of several in this epistle that gives us a window into the heart of the great apostle. Second Corinthians is one of the most personal of Paul's epistles. R. Dykes Shaw spoke for many students of this book when he wrote the following words.

"The chief element of value in this ep. [epistle] is the revelation it gives of the apostle himself."⁹⁶

Clearly Paul claimed that love for the Corinthians moved him to write the severe letter. He wanted to make them repentant and consequently joyful, not oppressed and sorrowful. He wept over them. Doubtless he wept again when he learned that his readers had misunderstood his best intentions.

"This passage, as Denney says, reveals, more clearly perhaps than any passage in the New Testament, the essential qualification of the Christian minister--a heart pledged to his brethren in the love of Christ. . . . Depend upon it,' he counsels, we shall not make others weep for that for which we have not wept; we shall not make that touch the hearts of others which has not first touched our own.'"⁹⁷

"When the offender is made to feel that, while his sin is punished, he himself is loved; and that the end aimed at is not his suffering but his good, he is the more likely to be brought to repentance. Every pastor must see in the apostle's love for the Corinthians, and in the extreme sorrow with which he exercised discipline, in the case of offenders, an instructive example for his imitation."⁹⁸

"In a manner that calls to mind Jesus' forgiveness of those who caused him pain at the time of the crucifixion (Luke 23:34), Paul responded with a deep expression of overflowing love for those who had failed him."⁹⁹

Note that Paul had a special affection for the Corinthian believers.

"His love for them was more abundant, or greater, than that which he had for any other church. This view is borne out by numerous other passages in these two epistles, which go to show that Paul's love for the Corinthian church was, for some reason, peculiarly strong."¹⁰⁰

Paul's example helps Christian leaders learn how to rebuke when we must. He used severity and rebukes very reluctantly. When he did rebuke he did it without domineering. He did it with love in his heart and desire to see the best in those whom he rebuked. Nonetheless he did it when it was necessary.¹⁰¹

It is often difficult to give up our plans, especially if much prayer and deliberation have gone into the planning. What makes this even more difficult is the possibility of our being misunderstood by others when we make changes. Notwithstanding, God often leads us just one step at a time. We must be willing to alter our plans if it is in the best interests of others and the gospel to do so.

"If you live to please people, misunderstandings will depress you; but if you live to please God, you can face misunderstandings with faith and courage."¹⁰²

College: 2Co 1:1-24

2 CORINTHIANS 1

I. OPENING (1:1-2)

Paul opens his letters with the typical formula of first-century Greek correspondence by first naming the author, then the recipients, followed by a greeting. His tendency to expand these basic components in all his letters reflects his own personal style and is not at all common in other Greek documents. Also, the length of his letters (other than Philemon) is unusual, vastly exceeding the norm, which 2 and 3 John exemplify. Carefully inspecting Paul's expansions of the formula's components generally reaps early dividends for understanding what major concerns are eating at him as he begins a letter. Second Corinthians offers such rewards, too.

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Paul often identifies himself as "an apostle" in the opening of his letters, as he does in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, but he doesn't always (Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon). Standard observation regarding this phenomenon is that Paul announces his apostolic status to emphasize his authority in situations where it has been called into question. Galatians is the benchmark, but such is no less the case regarding 2 Corinthians, which from beginning to end is about Paul regaining his status in the eyes of the Corinthians. The word "apostle" itself recurs five more times in 2 Corinthians (8:23; 11:5,13; 12:11,12), but it underlies the entire epistle.

Paul views his calling as an apostle "by the will of God" the singular focal point of his life, a phrase he repeats identically from 1 Corinthians 1:1. Paul readily admits that his initial call was unconventional in that it occurred after Christ's death and resurrection, but he proclaims that he was indeed commissioned personally by the risen Christ himself on the Damascus road, probably about 23 years previous to writing 2 Corinthians (Gal 1:15-18; Acts 9:1-15). Also unconventional was Paul's specific mission to Gentiles, non-Jews (Acts 9:15; Rom 11:3; Gal 1:16), which he undertook with the same ferocity he had employed when he persecuted the church, having assisted in Stephen's stoning (Acts 8:1) and having flaunted Jewish warrants for the arrest of Christians (Acts 9:1).

Paul's success among Gentiles made him enemies who dogged his trail sowing seeds of suspicion among his new converts regarding his claims to be a legitimate apostle. Very aware of doubters in Corinth, already in 1 Cor 9:2, Paul insists that he meets every criteria for being an apostle, principally, having seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8-9; Acts 1:22) so he can bear personal witness of it to skeptics. Paul also points to the way God has blessed his missionary enterprise with success. As with other local congregations now dotting Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, Paul designates that the Corinthians themselves "are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (1 Cor 9:2). This point he will continue to press in 2 Corinthians. Among many other important points, he will also call the Corinthian's attention to "signs, wonders, and miracles" he did among them as "things that mark an apostle" (2 Cor 12:12).

When Paul offers credentials of his apostolic commission, he by no means thinks of this as some personal achievement. He insists that he is "compelled" (1 Cor 9:7), ordained "from birth" (Gal 1:15), fully impelled and blessed by God's grace (1 Cor 15:9-11; Gal 1:15), not at all empowered by any of his own ability. If that were the case, he would still be persecuting Christians, what he now considers the shame of his life. Payback for this period of his life forever haunts him in the form of fellow Christians who seek to slash at his ministry.

The insistent will of God calls him to his role as an apostle for the church. In his mind, neither resistance nor obedience are even involved. He is what God has made him to be. Most ministers today feel the same way about why they are in the ministry. They know God has put them there, and they will serve him.

As he does here, Paul consistently describes himself in the NT as an apostle "of Christ Jesus." Although normally in this situation he employs the order "Jesus Christ," his combination of "Jesus" and "Christ" in either order is fairly even. Invariably when he adds Lord to the combination, it comes out "Lord Jesus Christ." "Christ" first, as here, emphasizes the messianic, kingly role of Jesus. After 2000 years of Christian history, we naturally assume that an apostle is an apostle of Christ. However, the word "apostle" has usage prior to the NT. One could be an apostle of Zeus, for example. An apostle is like an ambassador, sent by a king or a god to carry a message to a group of people, an official representative mediating his authority. Paul has been called by God to be Christ's ambassador to Gentiles carrying the saving message of the gospel.

and Timothy, our brother,

Paul names Timothy, not as a coauthor but as a cosender of this letter to the Corinthians. Unmistakably, the letter is written by Paul, despite occasional use of first person plurals. Timothy, who is with Paul when he writes the letter, helped Paul establish the Corinthian church, along with Silas (2 Cor 1:9; Acts 18:5). Already a Christian when Paul arrived in his home town of Lystra during the second missionary tour (very likely converted on the first missionary tour), Timothy joined Paul's missionary band and travelled with him from then on (Acts 16:1-3). A strong, emotional bond developed between the two (Phil 2:22). Paul earlier had dispatched Timothy to Corinth to represent him (1 Cor 4:17), possibly delivering 1 Corinthians. However, the NT is silent on whether Timothy actually made it to Corinth on that occasion (if he didn't carry 1 Corinthians).

Some combine the silence on this subject with the indications of his timidity (1 Tim 4:12; 2 Tim 1:7; 2:1) and Paul's sending of Titus, not Timothy, with the Severe Letter and with 2 Corinthians as an indication that Timothy did go back to Corinth on Paul's behalf but failed miserably. Mentioning him here as "our brother" to the Corinthians is seen, then, as a public demonstration of Paul's complete confidence in Timothy despite his lack of success with the Corinthians. More likely, however, none of this is in view, and Paul simply mentions Timothy because they know him and he is with Paul. Paul mentions Timothy as cosender in just this way also in Phil 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1; Phlm 1; Col 1:1, and 2 Thess 1:1, more than any other person.

Paul designates Timothy as "our brother" (ajdelfov", adelphos ) to distinguish Timothy's role from his own as apostle. Although the plural "brethren" in the NT is used generically to represent Christian believers, the singular "brother" or "sister" specifies Paul's coworkers, people with significant levels of responsibility and trust.

To the church of God in Corinth,

Paul normally uses "church" (ejkklhsiva, ekklçsia) in a local sense like this. The word itself, used to describe a public assembly in Greek culture, required further definition as Paul has given it here. The fact that it is found in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT done in the third century B.C.) to translate the Hebrew lhq ( qahal ) in phrases like "the assembly of the Lord" (Num 16:3), referring to the people of Israel, leads some to believe that from this derives the concept of the universal church as the true people of God. However, more likely, as the church expanded, the local, congregational concept of the church developed into the concept of the universal church, prominently observable in Ephesians.

Paul customarily refers to a church as "of God" rather than "of Christ," as he does here, although he does call Christ the head of the church (Eph 5:23). Despite Christ's responsibility for the church, he views the origin and continued existence of a church as coming from God as he draws people together who have faith in Jesus Christ and cultivates them into the body of Christ. For Corinth, whose citizens clamored for esteem as patrons of buildings and social clubs, Paul's designating the Christians in Corinth as the church of God, may well be intended by Paul to disallow anyone but God himself to be recognized as the Great Benefactor of the church.

together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Paul widens the local address of the letter beyond Corinth. Strictly speaking, since A.D. 27, Rome had designated all of modern-day Greece except Macedonia to be Achaia. Probably, though, Paul has in mind Christians who live in the area immediately outlying Corinth, who would have regular contact with them, and be influenced by similar problems. We know a church existed in Cenchrea, only six miles from Corinth, since Phoebe, the bearer of Romans, is said to come from that church (Rom 16:1). Other churches must have existed in the area surrounding Corinth which we just don't know about. Athens, where we know Christians existed (Acts 17:34), is too far away and so distinctive from Corinth that it must not have been included.

Paul regularly uses "saints" to refer to fellow believers, though never in the singular to honor anyone specially. It translates the plural of "holy" (aJgivo", hagios ) which refers to someone "separated" from others. The Septuagint uses the word in the plural to refer to the people of Israel as separated to God. Other Jewish literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, uses "holy ones" to refer to a smaller band of those selected to inherit the messianic kingdom. NT usage relates to both of these uses. Just as the word implies ritual purity for Jews as God's people, it implies moral purity for Christians.

1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The traditional greeting used in Greek letters, the infinitive cai'rein ( chairein ), is changed in all NT letters to cavri" ( charis ), "grace." The change puts all blessings under the banner of God's love for humankind. Some use of "grace" in Jewish correspondence makes it possible that the change is not invented by Christians but rather adapted from Jewish use. Regardless, using the added word, "peace" (eijrhvnh, eirçnç) which translates "shalom" in the Septuagint, is most certainly Jewish, still used in Jewish greetings even today. For Christians, though, peace encompasses what Christ accomplished on the cross not only in relation to our alienation from God due to our sin but in relation to one another as both Jews and Greeks become united in the church (Eph 2:11-22).

The combination of the two words carries fundamental Christian overtones. That Paul conveys these blessings equally "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" is entirely appropriate since each is involved in the Christian significance of the words. Balancing the status of God with that of Christ also implies Christ's divinity.

II. THANKSGIVING (1:3-11)

A. GOD COMFORTS (1:3-7)

All of Paul's letters conform to the conventional Greek pattern of inserting words of thanksgiving for the recipients of the letter between the opening and the body. The only exception is Galatians which substitutes a blistering censure. Second Corinthians retains the essential spirit of thanksgiving. However, it alters the thanksgiving for the recipients to a general blessing to God for his specific work, primarily in aiding Paul but also the Corinthian church, in their troubles.

1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

"Blessed" is more appropriate for the opening word rather than "praise" (eujloghtov", eulogçtos) since Paul is borrowing the word from common liturgy used by Jews in their synagogue worship. Paul expects that his letter will be read publicly in the Corinthian house-churches and scripts an appropriate call to worship. Though no verb follows "blessed," most translations quite rightly adopt "be" due to the worship context rather than "is."

The identification of "God" as "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" occurs elsewhere in 1 Cor 11:31; Rom 11:31; Eph 1:3; and 1 Pet 1:3 and makes the doxology particularly Christian. The NT concept of God's fatherhood of Christ helps us grasp their relationship by drawing upon human analogies, particularly in terms of Jesus' human life on earth. However, John 1:1-18 stipulates that Christ was at no time created but has always been "with God." Paul's emphasis on God's fatherhood here includes God's parental agony in watching his own Son suffer innocently and die an excruciating death on behalf of the world. It also must include God's dramatic rescue of Christ by resurrecting him from the dead and exalting him to the Father's side.

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

The reader is reminded that the truth of this statement has already been forcefully displayed by God in Christ. The point of what God did in Christ comes from God's compassion on the hopeless sinful state in which everyone lives apart from Christ. The language used for "compassion" actually is plural and is translated "mercies" (oijktirmw'n, oiktirmôn) by the NASB. This again comes from Jewish synagogue prayer, found also in Exod 34:6, Ps 25:6, and Ps 69:16. The addition of "all" before "comfort" also has the ring of worship language.

"Comfort" introduces the word which dominates the rest of the paragraph through verse seven, found as a noun (paravklhsi", paraklçsis) six times and as a verb (parakalevw, parakaleô) four times. It will be used five more times as a noun and twelve more times as a verb in 2 Corinthians. The word can mean "comfort," "encourage," or even "exhort," depending on the context, even in 2 Corinthians. It also has significance as a word associated with the messianic hope (Luke 2:25), particularly in places such as this which contemplate relief from the hardships of Christian suffering. "Comfort" balances the heavy use of "suffering" (pavqhmo", pathçmos), used three times in the paragraph, and "troubles" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) also used three times (nine times in 2 Cor). Paul views God as watching over his children, totally aware of their suffering, embracing them and delivering them through it all.

1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles,

The Greek construction suggests that first Paul contemplates the specific problems he experienced in Asia (described more specifically in 1:8-11) when he says "in all our troubles" before referring to the unspecified situations of "those in any trouble" whom God has equipped him to help. The word "troubles" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) can mean "crush," in its verbal form in Classical Greek and has this sense in Mark 3:9. Often used to describe the effects of war, the traumatic misery, both emotional and physical, created by outside forces of various types usually is in view. In the NT, the word usually has eschatological implications as it probably does here, particularly because of Jesus' use of it in Matt 24:21 and Mark 13:19.

Paul's use of plural pronouns is a notorious difficulty in the study of 2 Corinthians. In over 200 occurrences, the student must decide whether he refers to himself alone, called the editorial "we," or includes others. If he includes others, how wide a band does he have in mind? Is it just his cosenders and other associates with him, the apostles, the Corinthian believers, all Christians, or all humanity. In 1:3-7, Paul must distinguish between his own troubles and those of the Corinthians in order to emphasize their dynamic relationship. However, in 1:4-5, the principle he pronounces applies to all Christians. In 1:6-7, as he applies the principle to his relationship with the Corinthians, the plural pronouns exclude the Corinthians and narrow to himself and his missionary band.

so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Paul emphasizes the expanse of God's comfort as being total by using "all" three times in 1:3 with "all comfort," and in 1:4 with "all our troubles" and "any trouble." No gaps or weaknesses exist in God's capacity to aid his children to cope effectively with even the most horrific tragedies which confront them as they stand for his name. From a pastoral perspective, this is a crucial observation. Just knowing this is true may well be a beginning point for the comfort someone needs.

Purpose and result sometimes are difficult to distinguish. Is the effect of an action preordained or does it just follow naturally? The construction Paul uses in 1:4 with "so that" usually specifies purpose. Paul, then, injects the hardship Christians suffer with divine purpose in 1:4. At least one purpose is to be able to comfort other Christians in their suffering. Paul contemplates this truth in terms of his own experience qualifying him to comfort the Corinthians as a model. However, he views this as a principle of God's operation on a massive scale with all Christians, as he will explain in more detail with the verses that follow.

Paul's concept of mutual comfort should not be equated with commiseration. This is not "misery loves company" but rather shared confidence in God's power to deliver from and overcome the misery of suffering for Christ. God makes it possible for Christians to instill in one another the steadfast endurance to remain faithful no matter the hardship.

1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

As indicated by the opening conjunction "for" (o{ti, hoti ), 1:5 explains how this happens. The focal point is "the sufferings of Christ." Paul views these as being in surplus. This is not just because Christ suffered so severely on the cross but because he was innocent. The injustice of his suffering, physically and spiritually, makes all of it excess. This Paul sees as spilling over onto believers because of their identification with Christ which begins at baptism (Romans 6). In addition, messianic suffering from a Jewish point of view refers to the birth-pangs through which the messianic age would emerge (Isa 26:17; 66:8; Jer 22:23; Hos 13:13; Micah 4:9-10). In Matt 24:8 (Mark 13:8) Jesus assumes this but applies it to the persecution of believers that will occur in the interim period before his Second Coming. This also influences Paul's ideas here.

Paul contends that a chain reaction is in effect. As the surplus of Christ's suffering continues to overflow into his life, so also the overflow of Christ's comfort more than matches it. Thus, the result strengthens and builds confidence rather than causing him to succumb. The excess of Christ's comfort in his own life in turn supplies what he needs to comfort others like the Corinthians. Although he speaks with his own specific circumstances in mind, the principle applies to all believers. Christ is more than sufficient to provide the strength Christians need to endure challenges to their faith and to mutually strengthen one another.

1:6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;

The first person plural pronoun "we" distinguishes Paul and his coworkers from "you," the Corinthian believers. The paired use of "if" (ei[te, eite ) should not be taken literally. Real, life-threatening persecution in Asia rather than hypothetical affliction dominates Paul's thought here. He simply carves out the relevant principle in 1:6-7 before describing the specific example of it as it applies to himself and the Corinthians in 1:8-11.

Paul proposes that his personal affliction has tangible results for the Corinthians and others like them. He views his apostolic lifestyle of bringing the gospel to the unevangelized as a rocky road full of hardship for himself. What makes it all worthwhile is knowing that those who receive the gospel he proclaims reap the benefits of "comfort" and "salvation." Salvation for Paul means deliverance from God's condemning judgment (Rom 1:16; 1 Thess 5:8-9). By pairing it with "comfort," he extends its meaning here to include the emotional freedom that receiving the gospel brings to a person's life. Believers are not just saved from judgment but are also released to a new life of confident assurance and purpose to their lives. Including "comfort" here also maintains conformity with the other nine uses of it in the paragraph.

Paul also maintains that the comfort he receives from Christ also benefits believers like the Corinthians. They win out either way, whether Paul suffers or is comforted. The comfort Christ supplies him in the face of affliction makes it possible for him to continue on the road with the gospel. Without this divine comfort, he would long ago have succumbed to the emotional and physical damage inflicted on him for the sake of the gospel. However, Christ gives him comfort to overcome these powerful forces against him to stay on the road and continue to bring the gospel to the unevangelized.

if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.

The overflow of Christ's comfort for Paul further overflows into the lives of believers "for your comfort." Not only does Paul continue to preach the gospel, but his own deliverance time and time again from trouble exhibits the fact that Christ can do the same in the lives of other believers when they become targets of persecution for the sake of the gospel. Real comfort is not protection from trouble but sustenance through trouble. Easing of emotional and spiritual pain may be part of it, but most importantly it results in an outcome that is easily measurable. Does the believer maintain commitment to Christ through it all or not? For Paul, "comfort" energizes "patient endurance" (uJpomonhv, hypomonç) in the believer. The word translated "which produces" (ejnergoumevnh", energoumençs) means to effect or make something happen. Probably passive in this context, it most likely assumes that the same divine comfort Paul receives also is the power which energizes all believers to endure affliction.

When Paul says that the Corinthians endure "the same sufferings we suffer," he does not mean that the Corinthians are being persecuted in the same way or by the same people Paul has just experienced in Asia. He may not even mean that the Corinthians currently experience persecution at all, even though it is very possible that the Jews are still giving them trouble. What he means is any trouble they might have, currently or in the future, is part of "the sufferings of Christ" just like his troubles are. This will be clearer in 1:7.

1:7 And our hope for you is firm,

Paul declares his unshakable confidence in the Corinthians' endurance employing the commercial term for guarantee which the NIV translates as "firm" (bevbaio", bebaios ). Given Paul's volcanic history with the Corinthians, this is remarkable. However, Paul's certitude is not based on the Corinthians themselves but rather on Christ's provision of comfort to see them through difficulty. When Paul speaks of "our hope," he does not mean "wish," but as usual for him, asserts his assuredness based on objective data, this being his own experience of comfort from Christ and the overall reliability of Christ's resurrection power.

because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Because the sufferings and comfort of Christ affect both Paul and the Corinthians, he can also say that they are partners together in sufferings and in comfort. Paul employs a word related to koinwniva (koinônia), or "fellowship," to convey this. The word used, koinwnoiv (koinônoi), refers to people who "share" something, as the NIV has, or partners. Paul uses this word group more than any other NT writer to convey such vital concepts as the participation of believers in Christ (1 Cor 1:9), the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:13; Phil 2:1), the gospel (Phil 1:5,7; Phlm 5,17; Rom 11:17; 1 Cor 9:23), and as here, in the sufferings of Christ (Phil 3:10). Later, 2 Cor 8:23, he will also call Titus his partner.

Paul, then, views himself as providing comfort to the Corinthians, but they are doing the same for him. They do this by enduring in their faith and by supporting him in his afflictions. At the moment, it might seem like this all has to do with Paul's problems in Asia. Really, however, Paul is laying the groundwork for the Corinthians' remaining loyal to him amidst the conflicts with the Corinthians themselves. Will they continue to comfort him or will they abandon him amidst the fire of his opponents among them?

The mutuality of comfort is crucial for believers still today, especially in relationship to leadership in the church.

B. GOD DELIVERS (1:8-11)

From considering the mutuality of comfort in principle, Paul moves to a specific instance in his life which binds the Corinthians to him and which has demonstrated indisputably God's power to deliver believers, even from death. On rhetorical grounds, especially the use of the disclosure formula (We do not want you to be uninformed), good arguments are made for viewing this section as opening the body of the letter. However, the thematic tie with 1:3-7 is simply too vital to warrant such a major break yet. Granted, Paul's approach to thanksgiving here is different in that he magnifies the church's intercessory prayers for him rather than his prayers of thanksgiving for the church (Rom 1:8; 1 Thess 1:2, for example). Nevertheless, it's close enough to view this section as formally equivalent to Paul's normal thanksgiving section which typically concludes the introductory remarks and bridges into the body of his letters.

1:8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

Paul presumes that the Corinthians have heard of the incident he has in mind, either by way of Titus, the bearer of 2 Corinthians, or maybe even Timothy, whom Paul had sent to them earlier (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11). However, he doubts they know of the severity of the crisis for him personally, the spiritual crossroads it was for him, and how important their prayers for him were in his mortal and spiritual deliverance. It's this personal side of the story that is so relevant to his teaching point about suffering, comfort, and God's deliverance. Paul zooms quickly in on the traumatic significance of the experience, thereby leaving the details fuzzy. So, most assuredly, identifying the incident as occurring "in the province of Asia" is enough for the Corinthians to know exactly what he is talking about, even if it is not enough for us today.

Paul tightens the circle on what he means by "we" in this paragraph. Because he has moved from principle in 1:3-7 to specific incident here in 1:8-11 upon which he reflects personally, there is no certainty that even his small band of missionary assistants is still in view. This is why it is possible to associate this specific trauma with an illness which nearly killed him and connect this whole paragraph with the "thorn in the flesh" Paul talks about in 2 Cor 12:7.

However, Paul's use of "hardships" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) detracts from this identification. It is the same word translated "troubles" in 1:4 which is not usually associated with illness but with harm from outside forces. Also, an illness in and of itself, however severe, hardly stands up as a good example of sharing in the sufferings of Christ (1:5). Finally, this does not adequately account for why Paul names the place of occurrence, Asia, as the only external signal for this trauma.

Naming Asia prompts one to look for an observable, social incident when Paul and his missionary associates ran into trouble, which might have affected him more deeply than the Corinthians could possibly have known previously. Eyes are drawn to the city of Ephesus, really the only Asian city of consequence that Paul visited during his second and third missionary journeys. He stayed in Ephesus more than two years (Acts 19:8-10). It is also while Paul is in Ephesus that he monitors the Corinthian situation, writing three letters (the Previous Letter, 1 Corinthians, and the Severe Letter), making one visit (the Painful Visit), and sending two of his best associates (Timothy and Titus). However one takes Paul's reference to having "fought wild beasts in Ephesus," mentioned in 1 Cor 15:32, this reference further underscores the fact that the trauma Paul refers to took place in Ephesus.

That Paul and his associates were involved in at least one traumatic incident in Ephesus is documented in detail in Acts 19:23-41. Silversmiths who, among other things, crafted and sold idols of Artemis, became distraught that their trade was noticeably declining because so many were becoming Christians through Paul's influence. Demetrius rallied an angry mob, seized two of Paul's associates, and took over the theater, seemingly threatening violence. Public officials eventually calmed and dispersed the crowd. But it's not just pagan Gentiles who threatened Paul in Ephesus. Irate Jews dogged Paul from beginning to end in Ephesus, as indicated by Acts 19:9,13-16. In Acts 20:19, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders in his departure speech that throughout his time with them he was "severely tested by the plots of the Jews."

Is it the mob action of the silversmiths Paul has in mind? If so, Acts has not captured the severity of the situation the way Paul remembers it because Paul was not even one of the ones seized by the mob. Did the Ephesian Jews threaten Paul's life in some way unrecorded in Acts? Perhaps Paul wound up in jail in Ephesus at some point surrounding the silversmith incident or some other incident not mentioned in Acts. Time to contemplate his fate, to calculate the "great pressure" he and is colleagues were under, seems required, which the riot incident would not seem to afford. Although an Ephesian imprisonment is often conjectured, the evidence for this is not substantial. Could the traumatic situation with Jews in Ephesus who adamantly opposed the gospel have triggered Paul's deepest fear which surfaces elsewhere at Rom 9:2; 10:1, that his fellow countrymen, the very people of the Messiah, will in the end reject Christ?

Any adamant answer overreaches the evidence. However, it's probably most reasonable to go with what is known, the riot recounted in Acts. It must be assumed that there was much more to this than Acts says: that it unfolded over a period of more than a few days, only culminating in one riotous incident, and that Paul's life was threatened in some fashion during those days that Acts simply doesn't choose to include in its narrative.

"Brothers" (ajdelfoiv, adelphoi ), it should be pointed out, refers to all the believers in the Corinthian church, male and female. "Great pressure" (barevw, bareô) conjures up the image of a ship with excessive cargo weighing it down precariously listing from side to side. "Despaired" (ejxaporevw, exaporeô) conveys the picture of trying to escape danger down a path which abruptly dead ends. Paul is saying that external circumstances in this instance overwhelmed him so much that he felt the despair of hopelessness. He had slammed into a brick wall. All seemed lost. Things couldn't get any worse. He wasn't even sure if he would live beyond this point. As most believers learn sooner or later, it is at such point that God becomes most real.

1:9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

"In our hearts" further emphasizes the interior dynamics involved. Thus "the sentence of death" should not be taken as a clue that Paul has in view an actual court trial at which he had received some sort of sentence. Further, the term for "sentence" (ajpovkrima, apokrima ) more technically involves an official's response to a petition or inquiry, as when a death row inmate appeals to the governor to stay his execution. Recognizing his desperate straits, Paul indicates that he petitioned God to intervene on his behalf and that he imagined the answer to be "No!" Paul was broken to the core of his being. Where is his faith when God does not seem to be there? This is the ageless question addressed in the book of Job which all believers must face. Can we face even death with faith?

Paul shares what he now realizes was the real spiritual dynamic going on in his despair. As Job discovered before him, God was there with him all along. He wasn't alone. God had allowed external circumstances to create a spiritual trauma in Paul's life that would strip him naked, down to the core of his being, force him to rely upon God alone, and, then, God could rebuild him from scratch, step by step into a powerful man of faith, who would never, ever waver again. "Rely" (peivqw, peithô), also used in 2:3 and 10:7, has to do with confidence. Paul will be confident in himself no longer.

Why should he? All the power is in God, even to overturn what seems like certain death. He can and will rescue those who believe in him, as he has proven over and over again. Paul's mention of God being one "who raises the dead" certainly points to the resurrection as the foundation of Christian faith. However, it goes beyond that as exemplified in Romans 4:17-6:14, where Paul notes how God brings life from death not only in salvation and in baptism for the Christian but also how God got the ball rolling by bringing the life of Isaac out of the dead womb of Sarah. The second prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions, probably recited by Paul himself, which Jews pray even today, declares that God "makes the dead to live." Such principal truth about God abounds in Scripture, from the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, to Ezekiel 37's visual prophecy of the dry bones which came to life, to the coming of the Messiah, and, of course, in God's creation of the world from nothing and man from dust.

1:10 He has delivered from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us,

The theme for this verse is God's deliverance. Three times Paul employs the word "deliver" (rJuvomai, rhyomai ), both in the past tense (once) and in the future tense (twice). It is the same word found in the Lord's Prayer for "deliver us from the evil one" (Matt 6:13). Second Timothy 4:17 uses it to speak of Paul being "delivered from the lion's mouth," referring to his Roman trial. Although the word itself does not require it, Paul always connects it to God's power, whether it be God's deliverance from sin (Rom 7:24; 11:26; Col 1:13; 1 Thess 1:10) or, as here, deliverance from the evil designs of men (Rom 15:31; 2 Thess 3:2; 2 Tim 3:11). In 2 Tim 4:18, Paul, as here, expresses unswerving confidence in God's delivering hand from whatever peril he might encounter, even death.

Paul's enduring confidence was forged upon the experience he refers to here, which has been permanently etched into his life. God rescued him from what he thought was going to be certain death, "such a deadly peril," This, he will never forget. Upon this experience, he builds a life of unswerving faith, no matter the challenge. Paul peers over the pages of the text at fellow believers, then and now, when he reiterates "he will deliver us ." This is what God does, and confidence in this singular character trait of his is essentially what faith is. Like Paul, we "have set our hope" (the verbal form of the same word as in 1:7) "on him," because only his mighty hand can rescue us from evil, whether evil perpetrated against us or our own sinful evil which warrants our death.

1:11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our ^a behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of the many.

^a 11 Many manuscripts your

Paul believes that the regular intercession of the Corinthians (as well as other believers) contributed toward his deliverance on that traumatic occasion in Ephesus and that their continued intercession will make the difference in future situations of peril. Their prayer ties them to his ministry and whatever success it has. This is a somewhat unusual way for Paul to thank them for their prayers. However, such affirmation of the Corinthians' mutual ministry with him should help close the rift with them which spawns this letter.

Paul, then, views God's divine intervention as triangular, involving God's ability to deliver, his own petition to God, and prayerful intercession of the church on his behalf to God. Further, when the church recognizes that God has acted in response to their prayers, it is moved to further prayer, prayer of thanksgiving and further intercession that God will do even more through the servant who is the object of their continual intercession.

"Many," more literally, is "many faces." Although the word "face" (provswpon, prosôpon) can be used simply to refer to a person, here Paul seems to envisage a sea of faces, the church, lifted upward in prayer toward God because of him and on his behalf. By delivering Paul, the church is further inspired toward faith in God's delivering power and wants to see what more God can do through him. Such a spiraling of faith in the church invigorates Paul all the more to be God's ambassador for the gospel, whatever the peril, pain, and despair he must face. "Gracious favour" (cavrisma, charisma ) would appear, then, to refer to Paul's apostolic gift and how the church's prayers help him develop it through trying circumstances.

"Many" may indicate that Paul is aware not all of the Corinthians are praying for him since he seems to be out of favor with some. However, it may only indicate that Paul realizes not everyone prays at the same time. Nevertheless, "many" does signify the importance of numbers. "A few," it seems, would not be so powerful in its effect, not only on God, but on being an encouragement to Paul.

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY (1:12-2:13)

With this section Paul begins the body of his letter to the Corinthians. Paul views himself almost as if he were in court defending himself against charges of fraud and corruption regarding his relationships with them. Notice how Paul essentially takes the oath in 1:12-14 and then proceeds to tell his side of the story concerning the change in his travel plans. Paul's opponents in Corinth seem to have convinced many that his shifting travel plans are evidence that he has been manipulating the Corinthians all along for his own self-interest and that he has no honest feelings for them. Very likely, Titus brought Paul's attention to this lingering problem with the Corinthians upon meeting up with Paul in Macedonia (2:13) after delivering the Severe Letter and dealing with the fallout from Paul's Painful Visit. No doubt, he influenced Paul to deal immediately with this remaining and potentially disastrous breach in Paul's relationship with the Corinthians.

A. CLARITY SOUGHT (1:12-14)

1:12 Now this is our boast:

Paul pledges that what he is about to write and everything he has said and written to the Corinthians has absolutely no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas. He has tried to be as straightforward as he is able.

He employs the word "boast" (kauvchsi", kauchçsis) to head this opening pledge. In no way does he consider himself to be bragging. Rather, with this word he underlines his confidence in the sight of God. From his connection of the day of the Lord Jesus with boasting in 1:14, Paul surely has in mind standing before the judgment seat of Christ, as all will (2 Cor 5:10), the motives of his heart being exposed, and receiving praise from God (1 Cor 4:5) for his conduct with the Corinthians. This is the first of 29 times that the word "boast" and others based on it will be used in 2 Corinthians. All told, Paul uses it 55 times in his correspondence. In 1 Corinthians (1:29; 3:21; 4:7; 5:6, for example), the word has mostly a negative sense, something people should not do because it is an offense against God,

Readers today should not be offended by the arrogance the word conveys to them here and elsewhere in 2 Corinthians. Paul talks in terms of his fulfilling his mission from God in a manner that God would be proud of him (2 Cor 10:13; 1 Cor 1:31). The Corinthians themselves have pushed him into this position of talking about himself and defending his behavior. If he does not, he fears they may be lost to the gospel. He uses kauchçsis to introduce the basis for his confidence before God.

Our conscience testifies

The first basis of his confidence lies with his conscience. The word "conscience" (suneivdhsi", syneidçsis), used also in the similar context of 1 Cor 4:4-6, is critical in Paul's writings. Not used in the OT or the gospels, Paul's use of the word, found 10 times in 1 Corinthians alone, dominates the NT. It is suggested that the word comes into Paul's vocabulary because of his dialogue with the Corinthians (revealed in 1 Corinthians) who, in the matter of eating meat offered to idols, show themselves to be thinking like many in Greek culture that personal conscience is the final arbiter of right and wrong. Such a view has influenced Western culture, too. Paul teaches, however, that conscience depends on knowledge (1 Cor 10:25-26), that a person's conscience is affected by sin, and that it must be held subordinate to and informed by the moral principles of God found in Scripture by which all will be judged.

As if it is a separate, unbiased observer of events, Paul calls his conscience to the stand as a witness in his defense, as he also does in Rom 9:1. Despite the NIV "testifies," the Greek word is the noun form for one who bears witness (martuvrion, martyrion ). Like a well-prepared lawyer, Paul exudes confidence regarding exactly what his conscience will testify. It will testify that his conduct has been exemplary in general, but especially so in his relationship with the Corinthians. The plural pronouns at this point are editorial. Paul, at this point has lost sight completely of any companions or apostles, which becomes even clearer in 1:13 when he uses "I" for the first time. This is about himself alone and his conduct with the Corinthians.

that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.

The word "world" (kovsmo", kosmos ) has no negative implications here, though it can elsewhere (John 7:17). Paul refers to his conduct in daily human affairs with Christians and non-Christians alike. Paul's emphasis on his conduct with the Corinthians "especially" is needed here, but it indicates that Paul has been wary of their suspicious tendencies from the beginning. He may have in mind quite specifically his refusal to accept money from them, a matter he will take up in more detail later (2 Cor 12:13-14).

Paul recognizes that proper moral conduct comes from the influence of God's righteous character in his life. "Sincerity" (eijlikrineiva, eilikrineia ) refers to his pure motives, "holiness" (aJgiovth", hagiotçs) more than to the actual principles of his conduct as exemplified by God himself. God activates both.

Some manuscripts contain "frankness" (aJplovth", haplotçs) rather than "holiness" (hagiotçs) as translated in the NIV. The translations are divided, RSV and NASB agreeing with the NIV, but NRSV, NLT, TEV, and KJV opting for haplotçs. Certainly, haplotçs seems more appropriate to the context and is more characteristic of Paul (used also in 2 Cor 1:12; 8:2; 9:11,13; 11:3; Eph 8:5; Col 3:22; Rom 12:8). However, proponents of that reading do not adequately explain how anyone purposefully or accidentally would have introduced hagiotçs into a text which originally contained haplotçs. The fact that Paul modifies this characteristic as coming from God may help explain his choice of hagiotçs.

Paul reemphasizes that the reference point for his conduct has not been the mere standards of human culture and society but rather the standards of God. Paul considers human standards inordinately influenced by our sinful nature, "worldly" not being from kovsmo" ( kosmos ), as earlier, but from savrx ( sarx ), "flesh" in all its sinful connotations, so exposed by Paul prominently in Romans 7. Paul skewers the oxymoron of human "wisdom" from a Christian point of view in 1 Cor 1-2. "God's grace" (cavri", charis ) does not have so much to do with our salvation, as so often in Paul (Rom 3:24), but with Paul adopting the generous, sensitive, forgiving spirit exemplified so consistently by God in all his dealings with us.

1:13a For we do not write anything you cannot read or understand.

Paul now takes the stand in his own defense, offering corroborating testimony to that just sworn by his conscience, indicated by "for" (gavr, gar ). Focusing on his correspondence with them, he now states uncategorically that he has been as aboveboard as possible, making every effort to use plain, straightforward talk that can be understood by anyone (also 2 Cor 4:2). Using the present tense, "write" (gravfw, graphô), Paul testifies to the approach he has taken in his previous three letters to the Corinthians (the Previous Letter, 1 Corinthians, and the Severe Letter), is taking in this current letter, and takes in all the letters he writes to all the other churches as well.

The fact that Paul must state his conscious efforts at clarity so intensely suggests that his opponents at Corinth have used his letters as fodder for accusing him of sneaky deceptiveness so common among traveling philosophers (2 Cor 2:17). Paul's fear is that they will continue to do so with this letter (2 Cor 10:10-11).

Paul knows of his vulnerability on this score since the only reason he even refers to the Previous Letter in 1 Cor 5:9 is because it was misunderstood, and one big reason why he writes 2 Corinthians is because he fears the Painful Letter (2 Cor 2:3-4; 7:8-12) might still be misunderstood despite all of Titus's efforts to explain it. Indeed, 2 Peter 3:16 acknowledges that Paul's letters are "hard to understand" and that the careless misread them, which suggests that criticism about the readability of his letters stretches beyond Corinth.

Yet, Paul asserts honest clarity as his intention and purpose. Whether his letters, in fact, are "easy to understand" is a different matter. When he speaks of his letters being read (ajnaginwvskw, anaginôskô), he has in mind not that they are being read personally by each individual in Bible study but rather read aloud by the letter bearer to the whole church which has gathered to hear it (1 Thess 5:27 and Col 4:16). "Understand" (ejpiginwvskw, epiginoskô) suggests that the letters do not require the letter bearers to answer lots of questions for them to be understood.

1:13b-14 And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Notably, Paul switches to the first person singular for the first time, indicating that he has been thinking of himself, at least since 1:12. This will continue through 2:13. "Hope" (ejlpivzw, elpizô) does not bear the sense of salvation in Christ, so common with Paul (Rom 5:1-11), but a strong personal desire on his part. He sets the context against an eschatological backdrop when he refers to "the day of the Lord Jesus Christ." This day is the focus of eschatological expectation in the NT (1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 5:10; Phil 1:6-10; 2:16; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10-12; Rev 16:14) and is equivalent to the "Day of the Lord" in the OT (Amos 5:18; Joel 2:1,11), anticipating divine assessment of every human being (1 Cor 4:4-5).

The NIV's reversal of "you will come to understand fully" and "you have understood us in part" is common in other translations (NEB, TEV). However, it obscures the possibility that Paul may be alluding to 1 Cor 13:9-12 in which Paul also speaks of understanding in part now but fully when all is complete. The Greek word tevlo" ( telos ) may not mean just "fully" but "end" (tevleio", teleios , "perfection," is used in 1 Cor 13:10) as registered in NASB, NRSV, and KJV. Such eschatological implications match the context. Perhaps, Paul hopes they will come to understand completely now, via this letter, but even if the letter does not succeed, they will understand in the end on the Day of the Lord when all will be revealed.

The "as" (kaqwv", kathôs, "just as" - NASB) then becomes more understandable too. Paul's expectation of their full understanding is based upon their partial understanding now. Partial understanding here is a plus not a minus. It's a necessary starting point. However, Paul's confidence that the Corinthians will "boast of us in the Day of the Lord Jesus" is founded upon his belief that Christ himself as well as other believers will fully inform them of his integrity of mission, not just with them but wherever he has gone as an apostle to introduce the gospel.

Currently, the Corinthians are not boasting about Paul's character but questioning it. Regardless, their boast in the end, on the Day of the Lord, will include appreciation not only that he brought them the gospel but also for the integrity of character he maintained with them even when they were doubtful. For Paul's part, he is already certain that he will boast before the Lord concerning the Corinthians, as he will of all the churches under his apostleship (1 Thess 2:19-20; Phil 2:16; 4:1; 1 Cor 15:31; 2 Cor 7:4). Like the parent of a teenager, he is proud of them (and knows he always will be), despite the fact that the relationship continues to have its ups and downs.

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED (1:15-17)

1:15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.

Paul remains on the stand as he continues testifying in his own defense. He reflects back on his motivations for altering the travel plans he first conveyed to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 16:5. Headquartering in Ephesus, he said his next visit to them would be the last leg of a trip which would take him by land through Macedonia. This would give him opportunity to stay with them "awhile" before he moved on to his next destination, unstated at that time. He outlines his second itinerary in 1:16, which involved traveling across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus to Corinth, then up to Macedonia by land, and finally back to Corinth, before sailing off to Jerusalem. Although he doesn't explain it here, the backdrop of this itinerary was the final collection of the offering he was bringing the Judean churches from the Gentile churches (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8-9).

Paul had no reservations about changing his itinerary because he believed his relationship with the Corinthians was strong enough for them to understand (reflecting 1:14) that he had their own best interests in mind and that he was operating out of his own open relationship with God (reflecting 1:12). Paul is the only NT writer to employ this word for "confident" (pepoivqhsi", pepoithçsis), using it four times in 2 Corinthians (1:15; 3:4; 8:22; 10:2) and two times elsewhere (Eph 3:12; Phil 3:4). Consistently, as here, he measures confidence not so much in people or in circumstances but in God who operates in and through both.

The fact that Paul put thought into his decision comes across in the word "planned." Although the word bouvlomai ( boulomai ) often refers simply to a person's desire or will, it can, as it does here, refer to decisions of the will after appropriate deliberation.

At first blush, Paul's explanation seems straightforward enough. The plus in his decision was that he would visit them twice, rather than just once. The word translated "benefit," however is the point of some discussion. It is, in fact, the word "grace" (cavri", charis ), which Paul also used in 1:12. Does it have deeper significance? Some have been persuaded that the benefit Paul has in mind is a practical one, two opportunities for the Corinthians to give to the collection Paul was gathering. From this, they would be twice "blessed" by God (NASB, TEV). This twist seems too self-serving as others have registered. More likely is that Paul, as in Romans 1:11-12, has in mind the unspecified, mutual, spiritual benefit which God would create from them being together twice.

1:16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.

Paul focuses on his changed itinerary in detail, picking up the word "planned" ( boulomai ) from 1:15. Geographically, Corinth is not on the route to Macedonia from Ephesus since, after sailing the 150 miles directly across the Aegean Sea to Corinth, Paul will have to travel 300 miles north and then back to Corinth to go on to Judea. Overland, Paul's original itinerary, Paul would have taken him 600 miles up the coast of Asia Minor from Ephesus to arrive at Macedonia, and then another 300 miles from that region down to Corinth. In any case, the principal cities Paul planned to stop at in Macedonia were most likely Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, sites of churches he planted on his second missionary journey (Acts 16-17).

The reference to Judea signifies that what Paul has in mind for this trip is gathering and transporting the collection from the Gentile churches to the Judean Christians. His intentions, however the route, were to sail with the delegates and the money (Acts 20:1-4) from Corinth to Judea. When he mentions that he expects the Corinthians to "send me on my way" (propevmpw, propempô), he does not merely refer to a bon voyage at the dock as the ship sails away. Rather, as in Rom 14:24; 1 Cor 16:11, Titus 1:13, the word signifies that the Corinthians will provide overnight accommodations for the delegates as well as necessary food, clothing, and other provisions that might be needed for their journey.

1:17 When I did this, did I do it lightly?

The article accompanying "lightly" (ejlafriva, elaphria ) indicates that Paul echoes back one of the charges for which he stands accused by some of the Corinthians. The word itself, used only here in the NT depicts a person who makes a decision without giving it adequate thought, its adjective form being the opposite of heavy. So, it suggests flippancy but perhaps also vacillation (see NASB and RSV) as when one might make a quick choice between two alternatives without any certainty that he or she is right. However one takes it, Paul seems to consider this charge to be linked to the next one, and thus, "worldly." Also, Paul firmly denies that he operated this way regarding this decision to change travel plans by inserting the word mhvti (mçti) into the question, indicating that the question is to be answered "No!"

Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner

From the specific charge, Paul moves to principle. How does he conduct himself generally or habitually? Paul emphasizes this by referring to his process of planning twice, literally "that which I plan, do I plan according to the flesh?" For Paul to say that he operates his life in the flesh would be to deny that he operates by the Spirit. It would be to say that he has not been converted, that he lives by the dictates of his old life, the one put to death in Christ's death, the one brought to new life by Christ's resurrection, initiated by baptism, growing in the Spirit of Christ (Rom 6-8; Gal 5).

Quite properly, the NIV translates savrx ( sarx ) as "worldly manner" because, as elsewhere, Paul does not mean to imply simply that the mass of our human bodies are pitted against our new spiritual man but more that our lives as influenced by the ungodly principles, motivations, and actions of the decadent, ungodly world in which we live wage war against the attitudes of the new man being created in us by the Spirit.

The matter of making this change of travel plans, as far as Paul is concerned, goes to the heart of who he is: Is he carelessly selfish in his decisions or does he live by the higher standard of selflessness established by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit?

so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"?

If one thinks about it, taken at face value, this phrase could refer to Paul's worldly selfishness displaying itself in obstinacy, meaning he won't budge on an issue because he refuses to see someone else's point of view. He says either "yes" or "no," and that ends the matter. Thus, to be flexible is to be spiritual. Those who argue this emphasize that "in the same breath" is not in the text (rightly) and that uncertainty would be illustrated by "Yes, no." However, despite the doubling language in 1:17, Paul certainly draws out what he means in terms of "Yes, no" in the verses which follow (1:18-22).

That Paul is denying a charge of self-centered waffling in his decision making in this second question coincides with the charge of careless vacillation denied in the first question. Furthermore, the use of "Yes, yes" and "No, no" language likely mimics Jesus' own words, seen in Matt 5:37 and James 5:12, which are used to encourage believers to avoid all dishonesty. Thus, Paul's use of the phrase here probably intends to suggest that some Corinthians think that he was not just careless in his decision to change plans but that he was purposefully devious with them. Talking out of both sides of his mouth like so many others, was he using them to accomplish his own selfish purposes, even while he spoke of his love for them? Perhaps, even, some of the Corinthians see Paul's change of plans as showing he really loved the Macedonians more than them.

C. CANDOR DEMANDED (1:18-22)

1:18 But as surely as God is faithful,

Paul now calls to the stand as his character witness no less a figure than God himself, who comprises the very definition of integrity in his person. In one sense, this is a simple statement of fact. God's trustworthiness has been proven over the centuries in his dealings with Israel and continues to be demonstrated in relationship to the Corinthians themselves (and for believers today, as well). Paul has emphasized this before to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 1:9 and 10:13 but also in 1 Thess 5:24 and 2 Thess 3:3. However, Paul seems to be making this statement as a kind of oath in order to establish the solemnity of the statement which follows. He will do so more straight-forwardly with regard to the specific charge against him in 1:23. With varying language, he will also make oaths in 2 Cor 2:10; 11:10,11,31, as he does in Gal 1:20, Phil 1:8, and 1 Thess 2:5,10, sometimes citing God, other times citing Christ.

our message to you is not "Yes" and "No."

God not only stands behind the gospel, his very integrity comprises it. When Paul preaches that salvation is in Jesus Christ, this is only true because God has decided that Christ's sacrifice is an adequate compensation for man's sin. The message, or the word (lovgo", logos ), is firm. It does not change. Paul emphasizes that this is the gospel delivered to the Corinthians by him in the phrase "to you," which is literally rendered, "which is for you" (o{ proÉ" uJma'", ho pros hymas ).

In this statement, Paul links his own personal integrity to the integrity of the gospel, a bold challenge to preachers throughout the ages, especially today.

1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,

Despite his statement, the more dominant theme of Paul's preaching was "Christ crucified." Appeal to Christ's sonship is rare in Paul, being found only in the confession formulas of Rom 1:4 and Gal 2:20. The theme finds its primary expression elsewhere (John 1:14; Heb 1:3). Christ's intimate connection to God is crucial here in order for Paul to link the credibility of the gospel to the credibility of God. The person of Christ, as both the embodiment of God and the embodiment of the gospel, superimposes them together, forever joining the faithfulness of both God and gospel by remaining faithful to his divine mission.

who was preached among you by me and Silas ^a and Timothy

^a 19 Greek Silvanus , a variant of Silas

Paul identifies the "our" of 1:18 as being he and his two missionary companions. Silas, or Silvanus (the actual name in the text), refer to the same person in the NT. He first appears in the NT as one of the two personal messengers the Apostolic Council commissioned to deliver to Antioch the council's decision to accept uncircumcized Gentiles into the church (Acts 15:22,27,32). He becomes Paul's choice to replace Barnabas as his missionary associate and travels with him on both the second and third missionary journeys (Acts 15-18). He is named as being with Paul when he writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians from Corinth (1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1). He also reappears as Peter's companion and secretary when he writes 1 Peter (5:12).

Timothy (see note on 1:1) and Silas joined Paul in Corinth after he first arrived there with the gospel. The NIV "by me" more precisely is "through me" (di= ejmou', di' emou ), emphasizing Paul and his companions as vehicles for God's expression of the gospel.

was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."

Continuing to play with the language of yes and no, Paul zeroes in on God's full affirmation of his faithfulness in the person of Jesus Christ. No wavering, no questions, no small margin of error, Christ is all. Employing the present perfect of "has been" (gevgonen, gegonen ), Paul shows Christ's preeminent place in God's plan to save mankind has been in place from the beginning, or "always" as the NIV puts it. It is no afterthought.

1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

The contrast between God's promises and those of others is stark. Whether it be politicians, friends, or even gods, the true God is the moral compass upon which all others are judged. He keeps his word. Paul views all of God's promises, whether to Israel or to mankind in general, to converge in Christ but to extend from Christ, as well. He stands in the center. God's covenants with Adam (Genesis 3), Noah (Genesis 9), Abraham (Genesis 12), Moses at Sinai (Exodus 19), the Levites (Numbers 25), and David (2 Samuel 7) are in view but so are all other messianic promises (Isaiah 11, 59, 63). That Jesus realizes the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 in his death becomes amplified to the church through the Lord's supper (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). Hebrews (7:22; 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) emphasizes that Christ's covenant is superior to all the others God has made.

Jesus Christ is the "Yes," it is suggested, because he is the payment which guarantees God's promise of a new covenant relationship with Israel and with mankind.

And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

The word "Amen" (ajmhvn, amçn) transliterates the Hebrew word which was pronounced in synagogue worship by the congregation in response to a doxology or benediction. It proclaimed solidarity with what someone else had spoken. Paul's use of it here presumes that such Jewish synagogue practices were taken over into early Christian worship, as evidenced in particular by 1 Corinthians 14:16. With this dynamic in view, Paul pictures Christ ("through him") manifesting praise to God in accomplishing his mission, with missionaries like himself, Silas, and Timothy ("by us") pronouncing the Amen in the form of spreading the gospel message. It confuses Paul's point to think that "us" includes the Corinthians and the church at this point. What Paul wants to accomplish here is to link himself as an apostle to the integrity of God through Christ as evidenced by his proclamation of the gospel. He will not link the Corinthians and all Christians into this chain until the next verse, 1:21, when he pointedly refers to "both us and you."

"Glory" (dovxa, doxa ), used abundantly in the Bible with reference to God, describes the manifestation of God's magnificent presence in such a way that people can do nothing else but acknowledge him in reverence and praise. An "Amen" often follows the mention of God's glory in the NT (Gal 1:5; Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 Pet 4:11; 2 Pet 3:18; Jude 25; Rev 1:6; 7:12), which seems to influence Paul's wording here.

1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.

Paul brings his argument for the faithfulness of God through to the Corinthians themselves ("you"). What he says will apply to all Christians, signified by the present tense of the verb "makes stand firm" but particularly to the Corinthians, included in "both us and you." He anchors his remarks to this term "makes stand firm" (bebaiovw, bebaioô) which was used in the marketplace when a merchandiser confirmed the validity of a sale. It amounted to his guarantee that the product now belonged to the buyer. The Corinthians, with their bustling marketplace, will have heard and used the term many times. Paul uses it to impress upon the Corinthians that their very salvation, purchased by the blood of Christ ("in Christ"), has been secured and remains secure because God has accepted payment and stands behind the sale. Their new life in Christ is firm because of the trustworthy character of God. In fact, Paul merely reminds them of what he declared also in 1 Cor 1:6,8. There, as elsewhere in the NT (Heb 3:6,14; 2 Pet 1:10), the term has eschatological implications. Most likely it does here, too.

He has anointed us,

This is the first of three past tense (aorist) participles which Paul uses to demonstrate that, from God's perspective, the salvation of all Christians can be considered "firm" from the moment of their conversion, especially as this is connected with baptism. With this first one, Paul plays on the believer's association with Christ, using "has anointed" (crivw, chriô), which is the verb root of the noun "Christ" (cristov", christos ). Only here in the NT does the verb refer to anyone other than Jesus (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:28; Heb 1:9), although a related noun "anointing" (crivsma, chrisma ) is used in 1 John 2:20,27, most likely with reference to the believer's possession of the Holy Spirit. In the OT, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil to set them apart for God's service (Exod 28:41; 2 Sam 2:4; 1 Kgs 19:16). Although the occasion of Christian baptism seems to be in view with this participle as with the two which follow, Paul's chief concern here is every believer's reception of the Holy Spirit.

1:22 set his seal of ownership on us

This second participle, from sfragivzw (sphragizô), describes what someone does to signify that something is his possession. Herds, slaves, documents would receive his seal, often using a signet ring. To seal something can also mean to secure it, the word even being used for the fastener of a purse (2 Kgs 22:4). As he does in this passage, Paul uses this same word with "put as a deposit" (ajrrabwvn, arrabôn) in Eph 1:13 regarding the Holy Spirit. By the second century, Christians identified baptism as the seal, and Paul probably views baptism here as closely connected to the reception of the seal, the Holy Spirit. This would certainly be consistent with 1 Cor 12:13, as well as Acts 2:38. However, it goes too far, though, to say that each of the three aorist participles refers to a specific aspect of early Christian baptismal liturgy.

and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

The third participle "put" (douv", dous ) combines with its object, "deposit" (arrabôn) to identify clearly that the Holy Spirit has been in mind all along. It is used only two other times in the NT, both times referring to the Holy Spirit, again in 2 Cor 5:5 and also in Eph 1:14. In the Greek marketplace, a buyer would put down earnest money to satisfy the seller that he would eventually purchase the goods for the entire amount. Sometimes the buyer, rather than giving a first installment, would give the seller one of his own possessions, perhaps a ring (in contemporary Greek culture, an engagement ring being called an arrabôn), until he came back with the money. In either case, if the buyer did not return to pay in full, the seller kept the goods as well as the arrabôn. Such was necessary in a world with no contract law. The NIV has added "guaranteeing what is to come" to relay properly the conclusiveness that this word conveys.

In Jewish thinking, the heart (kardiva, kardia ) is where the essential person presides over his life. It is here that God places the Holy Spirit to guide and to guard the believer. This is as certain as it can get. It is not wishy-washy. The Holy Spirit in the lives of the Corinthians - and all believers - signifies their redeemed relationship with God. He is a deposit on their coming eternity with God.

Will God not claim his own? Is the gospel true? Is Paul's calling sure? Can God be trusted? Then, Paul did not make his travel decisions without carefully considering the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians. Paul's greater to lesser argument which has unfolded in these verses employs a sledgehammer to kill an ant. Yet, to Paul, personal integrity, however small the incident, cannot be separated ultimately from God himself, whom Paul and all Christians serve.

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED (1:23-2:4)

1:23 I call God as my witness

With this solemn oath, Paul retreats from the lofty theological arguments of the previous verses, calling himself back to the stand to speak directly to the question at hand. What were the motivations which led him to change his travel plans yet once more? The language he uses for this oath is very strong, more Greek in character than his normal style. He does invoke God elsewhere, in Rom 1:9; Phil 1:8; 1 Thess 2:5,10, and also in 2 Cor 11:31 and 12:19. The NIV flattens out the distinctive language in this verse by not translating "upon my life" (ejpiÉ thÉn ejmhÉn yuchvn, epi tçn emçn psychçn), which the RSV translates as "against me" and the KJV translates as "upon my soul." Paul's confidence in his honesty on this issue is so certain that he stakes his life on it, Although the word "life" (yuxhv, psychç) can refer to one's soul, mostly in the NT it refers simply to one's person or natural existence, as in Mark 10:45. Paul is not wagering his personal salvation here. Essentially, though, Paul invites the wrath of God upon himself should he not be speaking truthfully.

that it was in order to spare you

Paul testifies that his concern for them was the dominant factor in his decision to devise yet a third travel plan. The word "spare" (feivdomai, pheidomai ), used also by Paul in 1 Cor 7:28; 2 Cor 12:6; and 13:2, suggests Paul's authority to punish the Corinthians for unrepentant behavior. Such discipline normally involves disfellowshiping the person from the church for a time as had already occurred among the Corinthians (1 Cor 5:1-5).

that I did not return to Corinth.

Paul has postponed his second travel plan which called for a double visit to Corinth (1:15-16) until a problem among the Corinthians has been rectified. The situation is so severe that he may never enter Corinth again. It is difficult to judge whether the visit he made here was the first leg of the double visit or an unplanned visit prior to the double visit. In both scenarios Paul responds to a bad report Timothy brought back to him in Ephesus from visiting Corinth. At that point, did he change his first travel plan so he could visit them twice and then begin that journey, break it off when things got rough in Corinth, and return to Ephesus, or did he rush over to Corinth unannounced, run into unexpected trouble, and then cancel the double visit plan? However, if this visit is the first leg of the double visit, why would he have returned to Ephesus and not just have gone on to Macedonia as planned?

1:24 Not that we lord it over your faith,

Other than here, Paul uses the word "lord it over" (kurieuvomen, kyrieuomen ) to describe the authority sin no longer has over a Christian (Rom 6:9,14; 7:1) and Christ's authority over death (Rom 14:9). Having just spoken of disciplining the Corinthians, he considers it necessary to clarify that despite his responsibility as apostle for the Corinthians, they are not dependent upon him for their relationship to God. Their faith is their own. He can't make them repent regarding this situation any more than he could force them to believe in Christ to begin with. Ultimately, each believer comes to God alone, unaccompanied by preachers, parents, or friends.

but we work with you for your joy,

Paul likes to describe his associates for the gospel as "coworkers" (sunergoiv, synergoi ), the word used here, which the NIV has translated verbally. We can see the word used of Timothy (Rom 16:21), Titus (2 Cor 8:23), Priscilla and Aquilla (Rom 16:3), Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25), Urbanus (Rom 16:9), Apollos (1 Cor 3:9), Philemon (Phlm 1), Clement and others (Phil 4:3), and Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (Phlm 24). Paul does not view the Corinthians, nor any of his converts, as subordinates. They share the load of spreading the gospel, both by laboring in their own communities and by supporting the efforts of others to go to unevangelized communities. With "we" Paul includes here certainly Timothy and Titus who have labored with him in Corinth.

"Joy" (carav, chara ) in the NT does not refer to mere personal happiness, but to the satisfaction and confidence that can only be found in Christ. Such joy is a present by-product of our relationship to Christ, but it is also one of the new components of our Christian life which reaches into eternity. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), maintained in difficulty (2 Cor 6:10; 7:4), and the mark of God's presence in the lives of believers (Rom 14:7; 1 Thess 3:9). Here, Paul uses "joy" to convey his goal of assisting the Corinthian believers to culminate their salvation in the eternal presence of God.

because it is by faith you stand firm.

The image compares to someone having her feet set in concrete. Faith is the bedrock of our secure relationship with God. Everything else extends from it, and nothing happens without it. Unfortunately, the NIV's "by faith" distorts this image, which is retained with the NASB's "in faith." Conceptually, the perfect tense of the verb "stand firm" (ejsthvkate, estçkate) attests to the past, present, and future with regard to a believer's position with God.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Co 1:2

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ . [Since Paul's apostleship was in dispute, and since it seems to have been insinuated that he ought to have had a letter from the apostles or some others, commending him as such (2Co 3:1), he begins by asserting that he is such through the will of God, and hence needs no human commendation. He joins Timothy with him in the letter, since this young man had assisted in founding the church at Corinth. Anciently Achaia was the northern strip of the Peloponnese, and in this restricted sense Paul appears to have used it at 1Co 16:15 ; for he there calls Stephanas the "firstfruits of Achaia." But in the times in which Paul wrote, Achaia was a Roman province embracing all the countries south of Macedonia, and having Corinth as its capital. Since Paul uses the word "whole," it is likely that Paul means this larger Achaia which included Athens, and of which Dionysius the Areopagite, or some other Athenian, was the "firstfruits" (Act 17:34). As Corinth was the political capital of the region, Paul treated it as the religious headquarters, and addressed all the Achaians through it that any who came to the capital might feel a personal interest in his letter, and read or make copies of it.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father [fountain, source -- Psa 86:15 ; Eph 1:17] of mercies and God of all comfort ;

McGarvey: 2Co 1:4

who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God . [Paul regarded affliction as a school wherein one who is comforted of God is thereby instructed and fitted to become a dispenser of comfort unto others. He blesses God for such lofty and blessed instruction.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:5

For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ . [By "sufferings of Christ" Paul means the persecutions, etc., suffered for Christ's sake. As Christ himself suffered while on the earth, so the church, his mystical body, must likewise suffer while in the flesh (Phi 3:17 ; Gal 2:20 ; Heb 3:13 ; 1Pe 4:13 ; Act 9:4). It does this because it lives as he did, and its work is in a sense supplemental to his (Col 1:24 ; Joh 17:14 ; Joh 18:19-20). It is comforted by the Holy Spirit (Joh 14:16-18), with the sense of the present love of Christ, and assured hope of reward; a sense of increased power to assist and comfort others; a trust that all things are working together for good (2Co 4:17). The measure of affliction becomes also the measure of comfort.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:6

But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer [if, therefore, we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation which is accomplished through the influence of our teaching and example; or if we are comforted, the comfort is given to us for your benefit and profit, that you may receive from us that comfort which causes you to endure with patience the same suffering which we also suffer]:

McGarvey: 2Co 1:7

and our hope for you is stedfast; knowing that, as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the comfort . [And we have a firm hope with regard to you, that if Christ has comforted us in our affliction, so will he comfort you, if you partake of our sufferings. The phrases "same sufferings which we also suffer" and "partakers of the sufferings," suggest that Paul may have meant an identity rather than a similarity of suffering. The loyal part of the Corinthian church which he is now addressing, no doubt had in a large measure an identity of suffering, for, by taking part with the apostle, they exposed themselves to the same detraction, contempt, etc., which the pestilential minority were visiting upon him. As the comfort of Christ enabled him to be stedfast, he had an unwavering hope that this same comfort would enable his friends also to be loyal and stedfast. His own stedfastness had been recently tested to the uttermost, but the comforting help of Christ had caused the test to increase his stedfastness. Of this test, and its resulting influence of faith and confidence, he now tells them.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:8

For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

McGarvey: 2Co 1:9

yea, we ourselves have had the sentence [or answer] of death within ourselves [i. e., when we asked ourselves, "Can we possibly live?" we were compelled in our hopelessness to answer, "No; we must die"], that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead:

McGarvey: 2Co 1:10

who delivered us out of so great a death, and will deliver: on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us ;

McGarvey: 2Co 1:11

ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift [of special deliverance] bestowed upon us by means of many [who prayed for us], thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf . [Your prayers aided to save our life; and our life, thus saved, may save and bless many, and so cause them to glorify God. The troubles to which the apostle here refers as befalling him in Asia, were evidently those which culminated in the riot at Ephesus (Act 19:23-41 ; Act 20:1). Since Paul was accustomed to make light of ordinary physical danger, and since he did not go into the theater, and since they find nothing on the face of Luke's record which indicates that Paul suffered any anguish or any other discomfiture at that time, some commentators have sought to find some other danger or distress assailing him, and, failing to find it, they have set about inventing it. This has led to all manner of extravagant and unseemly absurdities, and to assertions that the apostle had cancer, paralysis, epileptic fits, etc. Those learned in books are very often deficient in the knowledge of human nature; but one skilled in the latter knows that no man could pass through Paul's experience at Ephesus without undergoing immense excitement, constant anxieties and most depressing nervous reaction. If Luke makes no mention of such things as part of the incidents at Ephesus, neither does he mention them elsewhere. He busied himself with the external, not with the consequent distresses of the apostle. One searches his writings in vain for most of that long list of hardships which Paul gives in chapter 11. But Paul himself tells of these anxieties and sufferings (Act 20:19 ; Act 20:27 ; Act 20:31 ; 1Co 15:32 and note). Had it been any sickness he would likely have mentioned it, and he would hardly in that case have used the expression "so great a death" when referring to it. Death by any natural means was not sufficiently repugnant to Paul for him to use such language (2Co 5:2 ; Phi 1:23). That he contents himself with describing his troubles in this general way is itself significant, for it shows that the apostle thought it would be amply sufficient for the information of the Corinthians. The gossip of merchants and travelers would have acquainted Corinth with the great hubbub which had been raised about Diana and idolatry in Ephesus, and it was prudent in Paul to speak of and commit himself as to his part in it in just such indefinite terms; for his letter would be widely circulated. Having spoken of his life as worth saving, he next takes up that thought, and tells why he dares to speak of himself in this apparently boastful or glorifying manner.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:12

For our glorying is this, the testimony of our conscience [it is often appealed to by Paul -- Act 23:1 ; Act 24:16 ; Rom 9:1 ; 1Co 4:4], that in holiness and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, we behaved ourselves in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward .

McGarvey: 2Co 1:13

For we write no other things unto you, than what ye read [literally, read aloud] or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end:

McGarvey: 2Co 1:14

as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus . [1Co 3:13 . If my words sound boastful, my conscience justifies me in using them, since I have manifested the holy and sincere life befitting one who is directed of God, and not the life of one who is moved by worldly policy and wisdom, and is void of principle. Such has been my general conduct, and it has been especially so in my dealings with you. Thus the apostle shows himself conscious of the scrutinizing suspicion with which the Corinthians watched all his actions. He knew that to govern such a people he must walk with more than common circumspection. Therefore, with a careful, guarded spirit he had penned his letters to them so that there was nothing in them of doubtful meaning. If we assume, with Conybeare and Howson, that the apostle had been suspected of sending private letters in which he modified the statements of his public epistles, the reading becomes clear and smooth, and runs thus: "I have written you nothing save what has been read in public and generally acknowledged as authoritatively mine, and I hope you will thus acknowledge my epistles to the end of the world, even as part of you acknowledged me to be an apostle, and gloried in me as your teacher, even as I also gloried in you as disciples, in expectation that I would appear with you before the Lord Jesus (1Th 2:19-20 ; Phi 2:16). By thus placing himself on a level with his disciples in mutual glorying, the apostle removes every semblance of unseemly self-glorification. But the meaning of the passage is practically the same if we merely understand the apostle as appealing from the false constructions placed upon his letters, to the text of the letters, and as asserting that he wrote no words which justified the ambiguous meaning placed upon them. We shall now be told about these ambiguous words.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:15

And in this confidence [i. e., that you gloried in me and I in you, and that we mutually loved each other] I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second benefit [this word implies the spiritual gifts which he bestowed on his visits -- comp. Rom 1:11 ; Rom 15:29];

McGarvey: 2Co 1:16

and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judaea . [i. e., trusting in our mutual love, it was my intention to visit you before visiting the Macedonians, that you might have two visits or benefits, one before I went into Macedonia and one when I came out; and I also, trusting in your love, looked to you, instead of to others, to forward me on my journey. The apostle had evidently told the Corinthians of this plan in the lost letter which has already been mentioned. See Introduction to 1 Corinthians, page 49; also 1Co 5:9 . And then he had changed his plan, as we see by 1Co 16:5-7 ; and note. This change of plan gave Paul's enemies a chance to accuse him of unprincipled equivocation, as though he said: (1) "Yes, I will come to you first: no, I will come to the Macedonians first." (2) "Yes, I will pay you two visits: no, I will pay you only one visit." (3) "Yes, I am coming soon: no, I am not coming soon."]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:17

When I therefore was thus minded [to come to you first, etc.], did I show fickleness? [in determining to come to you second, etc.] or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea and the nay nay? [Do I form and announce my purposes like an unprincipled worldling, who holds his yes and no subservient to his policy or his pleasure; i. e., does as he pleases, without any regard to his pledges or his promises?]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:18

But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay .

McGarvey: 2Co 1:19

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timothy [Paul's fellow-laborers in founding the church at Corinth], was not yea and nay, but in him is yea .

McGarvey: 2Co 1:20

For how many soever be the promises of God, in him is the yea: wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto the glory of God through us .

McGarvey: 2Co 1:21

Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God ;

McGarvey: 2Co 1:22

who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts . ["Every one when he is perfected shall be as his teacher," said Jesus (Luk 6:40). Paul has this truth in mind, and his meaning is as follows: "As God the teacher is a promise-keeper whose yea is absolute, unchangeable and immutable, so also am I, his pupil, a promise-keeper, a yea-man. I showed my approval of promise-keeping, and likewise taught you the value of such a characteristic, in that I, together with my colleagues, preached Christ as he is -- a promise-keeper. For God, no matter how varied his promises, is indeed a promise-keeper, so that he has begotten in us that assurance of faith which causes us to say an expectant amen to all his promises, and to glorify him by living as in anticipation of their fulfillment. Such a God could never indorse a promise-breaker, but God has indorsed me. He has established me, with you, in Christ, and by anointing me he has set me apart to the apostolic office, and has sealed me as his own, and has given me the earnest of the Spirit. If I am thus his apostle and still recognized as his, then am I like him, and raised above suspicion of being a pledge-breaker." The seal was then a sign or symbol indicating ownership (Act 9:15 ; Eph 1:13 ; Eph 4:30 ; Rev 7:3 ; Rev 9:4). False apostles might attempt to prove their claims by insufficient evidence, such as letters of recommendation, but Paul was truly certified as such by the unction of the Spirit (Act 9:17 ; 1Jo 2:20). Earnest money was a partial payment given to bind a contract, or given to a servant to encourage and stimulate his faithfulness. As a servant might exhibit such earnest-money in proof of his employment, so Paul pointed to the power of the Spirit in his life as an evidence that he was in the divine service.]

McGarvey: 2Co 1:23

[Having first argued that he could not be guilty of duplicity because of the very nature of his relationships to the true and faithful God, Paul in this section answers the charge more specifically by giving such an explanation of his actions as clearly demonstrated his sincerity in the entire premises.] But I call God for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you I forbare to come unto Corinth .

McGarvey: 2Co 1:24

Not that we have Lordship over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for in faith ye stand fast .

Lapide: 2Co 1:1-24

SECOND EPISTLE TO THE

CORINTHIANS

CHAPTER 1

CONTENTS

He consoles the Corinthians, whom in the First Epistle he had sharply rebuked, and absolves the excommunicated fornicator, who was now penitent. He then proceeds to treat of true repentence, of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament, of the duty of avoiding the company of unbelievers, of patience, of almsgiving for the poor saints at Jerusalem, of the duty of rejecting the false Apostles who set themselves up as rivals to S. Paul among the Corinthians, and depreciated him, and rendered it necessary for him to sing his own praises in self-defence. Then he threatens some of the Corinthians who still refused to submit to his apostolic authority. The whole Epistle may be said to be a defence and laudation of his apostleship. The Greek MSS., the Syriac, and the Latin Complutensian have a note at the end that it was written at Philippi in Macedonia, and sent by Titus and Luke. Baronius, however, thinks that it was written at Nicopolis, A.D. 58, when the Apostle, after being forced to leave Ephesus, where he wrote his First Epistle, after the uproar raised by Demetrius, left Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus, and came to Troas; then, not finding Titus there, he proceeded into Macedonia, and from thence into Greece; thence he sailed by the Ægean Sea and touched at Crete, where he left Titus. At length he came to Greece again, to Nicopolis, where he had determined to winter (Tit. iii. 12). Cf. Baronius, vol. i. p. 575. It is likely that he wrote this Epistle there in quietness, but the point cannot be decided certainly; for S. Paul, while travelling up and down through Asia, might have gone to and returned from Philippi, and might have stayed there long enough to write it. S. Luke, as is well known, does not record all the stoppages or all the journeyings of the Apostle. Cf. Acts xx.

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. Paul shows, in order that he might console others, from what great tribulations in Asia the Lord had delivered him.

ii. He commends himself to the Corinthians (ver. 12), by a declaration of the sincerity of his heart and of his doctrine.

iii. He clears himself (ver. 17) from the charge of lightness and inconstancy induced by his not coming to them as he had promised, and at the same time affirms the sure and constant truth of his preaching.

Ver. 1. — Timothy our brother. That is our co-Apostle; so the Pope calls Bishops his brethren, a Bishop his canons, an abbot his monks.

Ver. 3. — The Father of mercies. A Hebraism for "most merciful." See note to Rom. xv. 5.

S. Bernard says learnedly and piously ( Serm. 5 de Natali.Dom.): " He is rightly called the Father of mercies, not the Father of judgments or vengeances, not only because it is more the nature of a father to pity than to be angry, even as a father pitieth his children that fear him, but rather because it is from Himself that He draws the cause and origin of His mercy, but from us, that is, from our sins, draws the cause and origin of His judgment and vengeance. But if it is because of this that He is the Father of mercy, why is He called the Father of mercies? The Apostle in one Word, in one Son, brings before us a double mercy in the words ' Father of mercies,' not merely Father of a single mercy, in speaking of the God not of comfort merely, but ' of all comfort,' who comforteth us, not in this or that tribulation, but in all. ' Many are one mercies of the Lord,' say a certain person, meaning that many are the tribulations of the righteous, and the Lord will deliver them out of all. There is one Son of God, one Word; but our manifold misery calls for, not only great pity, but a multitude of mercies. Perhaps, however, because of the double substance which is to be found in our human nature, both of which are miserable, the misery of man may not unsuitably be said to be twofold, although in both it be of manifold forms. Truly the tribulations of our body and soul are increased exceedingly, but He who saves man wholly rescues him from the troubles of both."

Notice that S. Bernard seems to refer the phrase "Father of mercies" to the Son, and rightly enough, but it is not the intention of the Apostle to do so. S. Paul plainly means the same Person by "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of mercies."

Ver. 5.— For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth in Christ. "The sufferings of Christ" are, (1.) as S. Ambrose takes it, those which we suffer for Christ; (2.) such as Christ suffered; (3.) those which Christ regards as His own, in accordance with S. Mat 25:40 and Act 9:4, as Œcumenius understands the words. Theophylact adds that the word "abound" is used to point to the fact that Christ suffered more in His members than in Himself. This is true by way of extension, but not in the way of intension. In S. Laurence Christ suffered the fire, in S. Stephen the stones, in Ignatius the wild beasts; but His suffering and sorrow in Himself were greater and more intense than what all these suffered. The meaning, therefore, is this, according to Theophylact: Do not be downcast whoever of you suffers from afflictions and various ills, because, however great your sufferings may be, so great is your consolation.

But here observe, (1.) as Theophylact does, that S. Paul does not merely say that the comfort equals the sufferings, but that it abounds and is greater than they are; and, therefore, whoever is afflicted may bear his troubles patiently, nay joyfully and gladly, and so may gain the victory over them. (2.) The sufferings of Christ have this characteristic, that Christ gives consolation in proportion to them, and the greater the suffering the greater the comfort. On the other hand the sufferings of the world are vinegar without honey, and as they increase, so do desolation and mourning and woe. (3.) It follows from this that the suffering of the Cross is not to be fled from but embraced, as the mother of so much Divine comfort and joy. So S. Andrew, Ignatius, Xavier embraced it, and prayed daily for the Cross, and would not be set free from it unless God would give them a heavier one.

Ver. 6— And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation. We suffer tribulations that we may consol and save you, and may animate you, by our patience and hope in God and His comfort, to bravely bear, as we do, afflictions on behalf of the faith. So Ambrose. Cf. Chrysostom ( Hom. 1 de Spe et Fort. in Tentat. Serv.).

Which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings. This salvation, as the wished for end, produces patience. Others, as Theophylact, take it, "Salvation is wrought in patience." Ambrose takes it to mean that patience is the meritorious cause of salvation, and that salvation, therefore, produces patience as its final cause, for the efficient and final causes have a mutual relation. Salvation, as the final cause, orders and works patience, and in turn patience, as the efficient cause, works out salvation. The meaning, then, is that your consolation and salvation alike effectually produce patience, our exhortation animates you to hope for salvation, and to bear bravely on its behalf whatever sufferings arise from obedience to the faith. My exhortation or consolation, therefore, works effectually endurance by stirring, you up to it; the salvation thence hoped for works endurance objectively. Just so the resolution to attain some end makes us lay hold of and employ means.

Ver. 8. — Which came to us in Asia. From the tumult raised by Demetrius, recorded in Act 19:29. So S. Thomas understands this passage, as do all other interpreters except Cajetan, who thinks that there is a reference here to some persecution not mentioned in Scripture.

We were pressed out of measure, above strength. Above the strength of nature, not of grace—more than the body could bear, not the mind; for by the help of grace Paul bore this tribulation undauntedly and overcame it. "God is faithful," he says, in 1Co 10:13, "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" to bear by the help of grace. Moreover, he does not say that he was tempted, but pressed or afflicted above his strength, inasmuch as the body is a heavy burden, though the soul preserve her fortitude, and fortitude overcome temptation.

Insomuch that we despaired even of life. Nature would have preferred death to suffering such afflictions. But there was no despair when the charity and grace of God were considered, by which Paul was enabled to bear any afflictions whatever in God's service. This despair or weariness was felt by many saints. Cf. Job 10:1 and 1Ki 19:4. The Greek word denotes also anxiety and perplexity. Hence Chrysostom renders it, "We were in doubt," and Vatablus as in the text. Hence follows (ver. 9), "But we had the answer of death in ourselves." The Latin version gives tædium, or weariness.

Ver. 9.— But we had the sentence of death in ourselves. "But," here, has the meaning of "moreover." Nature and inclination presaged and expected nothing but death; and when I thought of the state of my life, my mind answered that I must die if God did not lend miraculous aid. So Ambrose and Theophylact.

The Greek word here rendered "sentence" means, (1.) answer. (2.) According to Photius, it denotes the crisis of an illness. The meaning, then, would be: We were so afflicted that our life was despaired of by nature and by experienced men, who, looking at our case as doctors might, judged it beyond recovery. (3.) It denotes sentence, as in the text. We seemed to have received our sentence, and to be destined accordingly to inevitable death.

Ver. 10.— Who delivered us from so great a death. "From so great dangers," according to the Latin. The meaning is the same. Ambrose reads "from so great deaths." The Hebrews are wont to apply the name of death to great dangers, violent persecutions, grief, and agony that are akin to death, and that seem to threaten a speedy death. So Chrysostom. Cf. Psa 18:5, and 2Co 11:23.

Ver. 11.— That by the means of many persons. Primasius reads this, "By a company of many persons," that is, children, youths, and old men.  S. Paul's meaning is, that through many people in a great concourse of men, thanks may be publicly given to God for S. Paul's deliverance and safe return, as the common father and Apostle of all.

For the gift bestowed upon us. That thanks may be given, says Vatablus, by many, on our behalf, for the gift of grace that was given to us. As gratitude demands that thanks be given, in proportion to the benefit bestowed, to the great Giver for our creation, redemption, justification, education, and growth, so also should thanks be given for the gift of deliverance.

Ver. 12 . — For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience. "For" introduces the reason why the Corinthians should give thanks and pray for Paul. It is because he was their Apostle, who, with great grace and efficacy, preached to them the Gospel and converted them; and in proof of this he calls upon his own conscience and theirs.

Observe here the force and quiet that come from a good conscience. "No theatre," says Cicero, "for virtue is so great as that of conscience." Juvenal, too ( Sat. xiii.), says. "The summit of happiness is to have a mind conscious of its own integrity." S. Augustine again ( contra Secund. Manich. c. i.) says: "Think of Augustine what you like, my conscience shall not be my accuser in the presence of God." See notes to 1Ti 1:5.

Not with fleshly wisdom. I have not preached with human philosophy or eloquence, but with grace, zeal, efficacy, and the Holy Spirit.

Ver. 14.— We are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours. We are the object of your rejoicing as your teachers; ye, as good disciples, are the object of our rejoicing; and this rejoicing will chiefly be seen in the day when the Lord will come to judge all men.

Ver. 15 . — I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit. The first benefit was that of his First Epistle; his second would have been his visit to them in person. So Theophylact. Or else the first benefit was his first visit, when he converted them; his second would be his second visit, to confirm them in the faith.

Ver. 16 . — And to pass by you into Macedonia. To pay them a flying visit, and then return from Macedonia to them again, so as to stay longer with them. This is what he means in 1Co 16:5, where he says that he would come to them after he had passed through Macedonia. Here he adds further to this that he also wished to see them on his way to Macedonia. So the Greek Fathers harmonise the passages; but Lyranus and S. Thomas reconcile them differently, but not so probably.

Ver. 17.— When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? That is, when I proposed to come to you and did not. The Greek word for lightness is derived from the word for a stag. In a like way we speak of the wisdom of the serpent, the innocence of the dove, the stubbornness of the ass, the headiness of the elephant.

Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh? S. Paul did not form his determinations relying on human prudence and lightness, which readily change men's designs, through worldly advantage or convenience, or the influence of superiors, nay, through the mere fickleness and changeability of natural inclination. So Ambrose.

That with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay. I was not so unstable and purposeless as at one time to promise to come and at another to refuse, as boys often do. So Anselm.

Ver. 18.— But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. I call the true God to witness, who is a faithful and true witness, that in teaching you I did not deceive you, and, therefore, that it was not my intention to fail you when I promised to come to you.

This teaches the preacher to beware of lightness and fickleness of life, lest the people infer from it that the truth which he preaches is equally unfixed and uncertain.

Ver. 19 . — For the Son of God . . . was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. My preaching and teaching about Christ was not variable, inconstant, and contradictory, but was a constant, uniform statement, for I always said and taught the same of Christ.

Ver. 20 . — For all the promises of God in Him are yea. All the promises of God in the Old Testament relating to the Messiah were constant and true, and have been fulfilled in Him.

1 The yea yea here, and in S. Mat 5:47, have a threefold signification: (1.) constant asseveration, as opposed to inconstancy and deceit; (2.) truth or reality, as opposed to falsity or unreality; (3.) simple affirmation, as opposed to an oath. Cf. S. Jam 5:12.

And in Him Amen. "And therefore we say, Amen" is the Latin rendering; that is, we affirm that those promises were true. So Chrysostom and Ambrose. For further notes on "Amen," see 1 Cor. xiv. 16.

Add to this that Amen is usually an adverb denoting truly, firmly, faithfully, and thence came to be the name of the abstract qualities of truth, firmness, and faithfulness. Cf. Isa 65:16; Jer 11:5; Isa 25:1; Rev 3:14, Rev 7:12. The meaning, therefore, here is: Through Him, Christ, the Amen, i.e., truth, faithfulness, and constancy, we give glory to God, saying: All that God promised concerning Christ is Amen, i.e., most true, and has been most truly fulfilled by God.

Ver. 21 . — Now He which stablished us. Some think that this is an ellipse, and we must understand the meaning to be, He which stablisheth us prevented, the execution of my purpose. But it is far better to refer these words, as others do, to what immediately precedes them. The promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ; but He who by His power and authority fulfils them is God Himself: as He promised, so in fact does He stablish us, anoint us, and seal us in Christ. In the third place, it would not be amiss to refer these words to what was said in ver. 18, "Our word toward you was not yea and nay." In other words—I am not fickle and inconstant in my speech, my preaching, and promises. It is God who gives me this constancy, and therefore let no one think that I am arrogant enough to ascribe it to my own strength and fortitude, since I profess that I have it, not from myself but from God. As God in Himself and in His promises is yea, that is, is ever constant, firm, and unchangeable, so does He strengthen us, and make us firm and constant in the faith and in what we promise.

And hath anointed us in God, who also hath sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. This seal, says Calvin, is that special Divine faith by which each has a certain knowledge that he is predestinated. But this seal is uncertain and unreliable, and this faith is false and foolish presumption. For the Apostle, who had as great faith as possible, fears reprobation in 1Co 4:27. His Divine faith, therefore, did not give him certain assurance of his predestination. Moreover, he frequently impresses on all the faithful that they carefully work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, and by so doing he takes from them all ground for assurance of their salvation. Add to this that no one is certain that he has this Divine faith, or that he will always have it; nay, many have fallen away from this faith of Calvin's who before believed with him that they were of the number of the predestinate.

I say, then, 1. that God hath sealed means, He has confirmed His promises as though He had stamped them with His seal, by giving, according to them, as a pledge of our future inheritance, His grace, by which He has sealed and anointed us to be the sons of God, separated from the sons of the devil. So Chrysostom, Theodoret, Œcumenius. This seal is altogether certainly known to God, but to us is only a matter of probability. This establishing, anointing and sealing take place through one and the self-same grace. Similarly, in Eph 1:13 he says that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

2. This passage may be referred to baptism; for ( a ) in baptism God anointed us with the oil of His grace; ( b ) He gave the earnest of the Spirit in the testimony of a good conscience; ( c ) He sealed us with the 'character' of baptism. Cf. Bellarmine ( de Effectu. Sacr. lib. ii. c. 20). The exposition of Theophylact and Chrysostom is to be referred to this. They say: " He hath anointed us and sealed us to be prophets, priests, and kings." Cf. Chrysostom ( Hom. 3) on these words, who points out how Christians who govern their passions are kings anointed by God.

3. It is the best explanation which refers these words to the sacrament of Confirmation, which, in olden times, was received by all the faithful to strengthen them against persecution. S. Paul has expressly distinguished, "He hath established us," "He hath given the earnest of the Spirit,". "hath anointed us," "hath sealed us." But these four things cannot be distinguished anywhere save in the sacrament of Confirmation.

These words point to four effects of the sacrament of Confirmation: (1.) The gift of faith, by which we are strengthened in Christ. Hence, as was said in ver. 18, S. Paul's faithful preaching of Christ was firm and constant, because God had strengthened him for it in Christ by means of the sacrament of Confirmation, i.e., through Christ and His merits. (2.) The second effect is the grace of charity, with which we are abundantly anointed, as with a spiritual chrism. The Greek, indeed, for anointed is the very word whence come "Christ" and "Christians," so that "Christians" are "the anointed ones." Hence S. Augustine ( Serm. 342) says: "The word 'Christ' is from chrism, i.e., anointing. Every Christian, therefore, is sanctified, in order that he may understand that he not only is made a partaker of the priestly and royal dignity, but also an adversary of the devil." (3.) The third fruit is the earnest of the Spirit, which is the testimony of a good conscience given by the Holy Spirit, and which is as the earnest of the future glory promised, and to be given by the Holy Spirit. For the sense in which the Holy Spirit is the pledge or earnest, see notes to Eph 1:14. (4.) The fourth fruit is the seal and sign of the Cross on the forehead, signifying the "character" imprinted on the soul, by which we are sealed as His servants, or rather His soldiers and leaders. Cf. Ambrose ( de his qui Mysteriis Initiantur, c. vii.), Suarez (pt. iii. qu. 63, art. 1 and 4).

Ver. 23.— Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul. From this it is lawful for a Christian to take an oath, says S. Augustine (qu. 5, inter. 83); for the Apostle here takes an oath, and that one of execration. If I lie, he says, may God be my judge and condemn my soul.

That to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. Lest I should be forced to exert my apostolic authority against the vices of the offenders among you: it was to spare you from being grieved by my coming to correct you. So Anselm. Cf. also chap. ii. 1. S. Paul here gives the real reason why he had not kept his promise, or his purpose of visiting Corinth, which was that the Corinthians had not yet given up the vices of which he had admonished them in his First Epistle, and deserved therefore to be rebuked still more sharply and punished. But he deals gently with them, and by his absence he wished tacitly, and by his Epistle openly to remind them once more of their duty, and so correct them with gentleness.

Let prelates learn from this not to be ever chiding and rebuking those under them for their faults, lest they make them hard and callous. And more than this, the faults of some people, especially those that are more high-minded and sensitive, are more effectually corrected if they are pointed out patiently and indirectly than if they are rebuked openly, or actually visited with punishment. Cf. S. Gregory ( Pastor. pt, iii. c. 8 and 9).

As yet. That is, after his first visit, or after the First Epistle.

Ver. 24 . — Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy. This is a well-known rhetorical figure of speech, by which he tones down what had been said before of his power. He means: I said that 1 was unwilling to punish, and wished you of your own accord to correct yourselves; but I said this not from love of power, or as though I wished to act arbitrarily, but to improve you, that when you were so corrected you might rejoice both on earth and in heaven. This rebuke of mine, therefore, is not so much a rebuke as a support and help to your joy. So Anselm.

For by faith ye stand. "Which," says S. Anselm, "works by love and is not forced by dominion." In your faith I have nothing to correct, but only in your actions; and, since you are of the faithful, I will not imperiously scold you, but gently admonish you by this letter, that so you may all rejoice with me. Since you are of the faith, I have little doubt but that you will at once listen to my admonitions.

Commentary -- Other

Evidence: 2Co 1:4

This chapter is in direct conflict with the message of modern evangelism, which promises a life of happiness, joy, peace, and fulfillment. The truth is that the Christian life is flavored with trials that keep us on our knees.

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Second Corinthians

From Macedonia a.d. 54 Or 55

By Way of Introduction

The Pauline authorship is admitted by all real scholars, though there is doubt by some as to the unity of the Epistle. J.H. Kennedy ( The Second and Third Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians , 1900) has presented the arguments in a plausible, but not wholly convincing, manner for the plea that chapters 2 Corinthians 10-13 really represent a separate and earlier letter, the one referred to in 2Co_2:3, which was later tacked on to chapters 1-9 as part of the same Epistle. This theory does explain the difference in tone between chapters 1 to 7 and 10 to 13, but that fact is sufficiently clear from the stubborn minority against Paul in Corinth reported by Titus after the majority had been won to Paul by First Corinthians and by Titus (2Co_2:1-11). There are in fact three obvious divisions in the Epistle. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the report of Titus about the victory in Corinth and Paul’s wonderful digression on the glory of the ministry in 2 Corinthians 2:12-6:10; chapters 8 and 2Co_9:1-15 discuss the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem already mentioned in 1Co_16:1. and which Titus is to press to completion on his return to Corinth; chapters 10 to 13 deal sharply with the Judaizing minority who still oppose Paul’s leadership. These three subjects are in no sense inconsistent with each other. The letter is a unity. Nowhere do we gain so clear an insight into Paul’s own struggles and hopes as a preacher. It is a handbook for the modern minister of inestimable value. One can hear Paul’s heart throb through these chapters. The syntax is often broken by anacolutha. The sentences are sometimes disconnected. Grammatical agreements are overlooked. But there is power here, the grip of a great soul holding on to the highest ideals in the midst of manifold opposition and discouragements. Christ is Master of Paul at every turn.

The date of the Epistle is clearly after I Corinthians, for Paul has left Ephesus and is now in Macedonia (2Co_2:13), probably at Philippi, where he met Titus, though he had hoped to meet him at Troas on his return from Corinth. At a guess one may say that Paul wrote in the autumn of a.d. 54 or 55 of the same year in the spring of which he had written I Corinthians, and before he went on to Corinth himself where he wrote Romans (Act_20:1-3; Rom_16:1).

The occasion for writing is the return of Titus from Corinth with mixed news of the Pauline majority and the minority in opposition. So Titus is sent back with this Epistle to finish the task while Paul waits awhile for matters to clear up (2Co_13:1-10).

It is not certain whether the letter mentioned in 2Co_2:3 is our I Corinthians or a lost letter like the one alluded to in 1Co_5:9. If it is a lost one, we know of four Corinthian Epistles (the one in 1Co_5:9, our I Corinthians, the one in 2Co_2:3, our II Corinthians), assuming the unity of II Corinthians. Few things in Paul’s ministry gave him more concern than the troubles in Corinth. The modern city pastor finds little in his work that Paul has not faced and mastered. There is consolation and courage for the preacher in the conduct and counsels of this greatest of all preachers.

Vincent: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians

Paul's stay at Ephesus was cut short by the riot. He departed to Troas, and thence to Macedonia (Acts 20), where he met Titus, for whose arrival he had anxiously waited in order to learn the effect of his letter (2Co 1:8; 2Co 2:13; 2Co 7:5). Titus' report was both gratifying and disheartening. He had been cordially received, and the epistle had caused penitence and amendment; but the influence of the anti-Pauline parties had increased, and they were openly assailing Paul's character and insisting on their own superior apostolic claims. Accordingly Titus was again sent to Corinth with a second epistle, written from some point in Macedonia. The statement of the subscription that it was written from Philippi, lacks evidence, besides being in itself improbable. The date is the autumn of a.d. 57.

The epistle is among the least systematic of Paul's writings, for the reason that it was written in a conflict of feeling, in which joy, grief, and indignation struggled for the mastery. Its main motives are three in number.

1. Thankfulness for the effect of his first letter.

2. Indignation at the work and increasing influence of the false teachers.

3. Anxiety for the completion of the collection, and that the Corinthians should imitate the good example of the Macedonian churches.

" The three objects of the epistle are, in point of arrangement, kept distinct; but so vehement were the feelings under which he wrote, that the thankful expression of the first part is darkened by the indignation of the third; and the directions about the business of the contribution are colored by the reflections both of his joy and of his grief" (Stanley).

The style accords with this turbulence of feeling. It is surcharged with passionate emotion. No one of Paul's epistles is so intensely personal. Here only he reveals two of those great spiritual experiences which belong to a Christian's inmost heart-life - personal crises which are secrets between a man and his God. One of these - the thorn in the flesh - is a crisis of agony; the other - the rapture into the third heaven - a crisis of ecstasy. Bengel's remark is familiar, that the epistle is an itinerary. " The very stages of his journey are impressed upon it; the troubles at Ephesus, the repose at Troas, the anxieties and consolations of Macedonia, the prospect of removing to Corinth" (Stanley). His self-vindication is not only a remarkable piece of personal history, but a revelation of his high sense of honor and his keen sensitiveness. His " boasting," into which he is driven by persistent slander, throws into relief his aversion to self-praise. He formally announces his intention to boast, as though he can bring himself to the task only by committing himself to it. Thrice he repeats the announcement, and each time seems to catch, with a sense of relief, at an opportunity for digressing to a different subject. Ecstatic thanksgiving and cutting irony, self-assertion and self-abnegation, commendation, warning and authority, paradox, apology, all meet and cross and seethe; yet out of the swirling eddies rise, like rocks, grand Christian principles and inspiring hopes. Such are the double power of the Gospel for life or death; the freedom and energy of the dispensation of the Spirit; suffering the path to glory; the divine purpose in the decay of the fleshly tabernacle; the new and heavenly investment of the mortal life; the universal judgment; the nature of repentance as distinguished from sorrow, and the principles of christian liberality. Full and swift as is the torrent, there is ever a hand on the floodgate. In the most indignant outburst the sense of suppression asserts itself. Indignation and irony never run into malediction. We cease to be surprised at the apostle's capability of indignation when we catch glimpses, as we do throughout the epistle, into the depths of his tenderness.

It is not strange that such a tempest should set its mark upon the style and diction, especially if we assume that the epistle was dictated to an amanuensis. In some particulars the epistle is the most difficult in the New Testament. The style is broken, involved, at times obscure. The impetuosity of the thought carries it from point to point with a rapidity which makes it often hard to grasp the sequence and connection. It is preeminently picturesque, abounding in metaphors which sometimes lie undeveloped in the heart of single words, and sometimes are strangely mixed or suddenly shifted. Building and clothing blend in describing the heavenly investiture of the believer; now the Corinthians are a commendatory letter written in the apostles' hearts, now the letter is written by Christ on the Corinthians' hearts; the rush of thought does not stop at the incongruity of an epistle on stone and of ink on stone tables; now the knowledge of Christ, now the apostles themselves are a sweet odor. Paul does not huckster the word of God. He does not benumb his converts like a torpedo. Here a word calls up Gideon's lamps and pitchers, there the rocky strongholds of the Cilician pirates. A rapid series of participles carries us through the successive stages of a battle - the hemming in, the cutting the way out, the pursuit, the blow of the enemy's sword. The high citadel is stormed, the lofty towers are overthrown, the captives are led away. Paul bears about a daily death: affliction is a light weight, glory an overwhelming burden: the fleshly body is a tent, the glorified body an eternal building, or a garment dropped from above.

Certain words appear to have a peculiar fascination for the writer, as if they gathered up into themselves the significance of whole masses of thought. Without arresting its main current, the stream eddies round these. Sometimes he dwells on them caressingly, as " the God of all comfort , who comforteth us, that we may be able to comfort with the comfort wherewith we are comforted ." Sometimes he rings them out like a challenge, as commend , commendation , boast . Sometimes he touches and retouches them with a sarcastic emphasis, as bear with me, bear with them. " So full of turns is he everywhere," says Erasmus, " so great is the skill, you would not believe that the same man was speaking. Now, as some limpid fountain, he gently bubbles forth; anon, like a mighty torrent, he rolls crashing on, whirling many things along in his course: again he flows calmly and smoothly, or spreads out into a lake."

The authenticity of the epistle is conceded. Unsuccessful attempts have been made against its integrity, as the effort to show that it consists of three separate epistles, or of two.

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE following reasons seem to have induced Paul to write this Second Epistle to the Corinthians: (1) That he might explain the reasons for his having deferred to pay them his promised visit, by taking Corinth as his way to Macedonia (1Co 4:19; 2Co 1:15-16; compare 1Co 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (2Co 1:12, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 6:3-13; 2Co 7:2). (2) That he might commend their obedience in reference to the directions in his First Epistle, and at the same time direct them now to forgive the offender, as having been punished sufficiently (2Co 2:1-11; 2Co 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (2Co 8:1-9, 2Co 8:15). (4) That he might maintain his apostolic authority and reprove gainsayers.

The external testimonies for its genuineness are IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,1]; ATHENAGORAS [Of the Resurrection of the Dead]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 3, p. 94; 4, p. 101]; TERTULLIAN [On Modesty, 13].

The TIME OF WRITING was after Pentecost, A.D. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2Co 2:12), he went on to Macedonia, being eager to meet Titus there, having been disappointed in his not coming to Troas, as had been agreed on between them. Having heard from him the tidings he so much desired of the good effect produced on the Corinthians by his First Epistle, and after having tested the liberality of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1), he wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months; and then, after travelling by land, reached Philippi on his return at Passover or Easter, A.D. 58 (Act 20:1-6). So that this Epistle must have been written about autumn, A.D. 57.

Macedonia was THE PLACE from which it was written (2Co 9:2, where the present tense, "I boast," or "am boasting," implies his presence then in Macedonia). In Asia (Lydian Asia) he had undergone some great peril of his life (2Co 1:8-9), whether the reference be [PALEY] to the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), or, as ALFORD thinks, to a dangerous illness in which he despaired of life. Thence he passed by Troas to Philippi, the first city which would meet him in entering Macedonia. The importance of the Philippian Church would induce him to stay there some time; as also his desire to collect contributions from the Macedonian churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem. His anxiety of mind is recorded (2Co 7:5) as occurring when he came into Macedonia, and therefore must have been at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia in coming from Troas; and here, too, from 2Co 7:6, compared with 2Co 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in 2Co 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (2Co 7:5). ALFORD argues from 2Co 8:1, where he speaks of the "grace bestowed on the churches (plural) of Macedonia," that Paul must have visited other churches in Macedonia, besides Philippi, when he wrote, for example, Thessalonica, Berea, &c., and that Philippi, the first on his route, is less likely to have been the scene of his writing than the last on his route, whichever it was, perhaps Thessalonica. But Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this Epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co 8:6).

The STYLE is most varied, and passes rapidly from one phase of feeling to another; now joyous and consolatory, again severe and full of reproof; at one time gentle and affectionate, at another, sternly rebuking opponents and upholding his dignity as an apostle. This variety of style accords with the warm and earnest character of the apostle, which nowhere is manifested more beautifully than in this Epistle. His bodily frailty, and the chronic malady under which he suffered, and which is often alluded to (2Co 4:7; 2Co 5:1-4; 2Co 12:7-9; compare Note, see on 2Co 1:8), must have been especially trying to one of his ardent temperament. But besides this, was the more pressing anxiety of the "care of all the churches." At Corinth, as elsewhere, Judaizing emissaries wished to bind legal fetters of letter and form (compare 2Co. 3:3-18) on the freedom and catholicity of the Church. On the other hand, there were free thinkers who defended their immorality of practice by infidel theories (1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (2Co 7:5-6) which agitated the apostle's mind until Titus brought him comforting tidings from Corinth. Even then, while the majority at Corinth had testified their repentance, and, as Paul had desired, excommunicated the incestuous person, and contributed for the poor Christians of Judea, there was still a minority who, more contemptuously than ever, resisted the apostle. These accused him of crafty and mercenary motives, as if he had personal gain in view in the collection being made; and this, notwithstanding his scrupulous care to be above the possibility of reasonable suspicion, by having others besides himself to take charge of the money. This insinuation was palpably inconsistent with their other charge, that he could be no true apostle, as he did not claim maintenance from the churches which he founded. Another accusation they brought of cowardly weakness; that he was always threatening severe measures without daring to execute them (2Co 10:8-16; 2Co 13:2); and that he was vacillating in his teaching and practice, circumcising Timothy, and yet withholding circumcision from Titus; a Jew among the Jews, and a Greek among the Greeks. That most of these opponents were of the Judaizing party in the Church, appears from 2Co 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," 2Co 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (2Co 3:1) from members of the Church at Jerusalem, and who boasted of his purity of Hebrew descent, and his close connection with Christ Himself (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (1Co 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (2Co 11:6; 2Co 10:10, 2Co 10:13). It was this state of things at Corinth, reported by Titus, that caused Paul to send him back forthwith thither with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co 1:1), which had in some degree been affected by the same causes as affected the Corinthian Church. The widely different tone in different parts of the Epistle is due to the diversity which existed at Corinth between the penitent majority and the refractory minority. The former he addresses with the warmest affection; the latter with menace and warning. Two deputies, chosen by the churches to take charge of the contribution to be collected at Corinth, accompanied Titus (2Co 8:18-19, 2Co 8:22).

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

• THE HEADING; PAUL'S CONSOLATIONS IN RECENT TRIALS IN ASIA; HIS SINCERITY TOWARDS THE CORINTHIANS; EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT HAVING VISITED THEM AS HE HAD PURPOSED. (2Co. 1:1-24)
• REASON WHY HE HAD NOT VISITED THEM ON HIS WAY TO MACEDONIA; THE INCESTUOUS PERSON OUGHT NOW TO BE FORGIVEN; HIS ANXIETY TO HEAR TIDINGS OF THEIR STATE FROM TITUS, AND HIS JOY WHEN AT LAST THE GOOD NEWS REACHES HIM. (2Co. 2:1-17)
• THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION. (2Co. 3:1-18) Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
• HIS PREACHING IS OPEN AND SINCERE, THOUGH TO MANY THE GOSPEL IS HIDDEN. (2Co. 4:1-18)
• THE HOPE (2Co 4:17-18) OF ETERNAL GLORY IN THE RESURRECTION BODY. (2Co. 5:1-21)
• HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18)
• SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16)
• THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS; THE READINESS OF THE MACEDONIANS A PATTERN TO THE CORINTHIANS; CHRIST THE HIGHEST PATTERN; EACH IS TO GIVE WILLINGLY AFTER HIS ABILITY; TITUS AND TWO OTHERS ARE THE AGENTS ACCREDITED TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION. (2Co. 8:1-24)
• REASONS FOR HIS SENDING TITUS. THE GREATER THEIR BOUNTIFULNESS, THE MORE SHALL BE THE RETURN OF BLESSING TO THEM, AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. (2Co 9:1-15)
• HE VINDICATES HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AGAINST THOSE WHO DEPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HE WILL MAKE HIS POWER FELT WHEN HE COMES. HE BOASTS NOT, AS THEY, BEYOND HIS MEASURE. (2Co. 10:1-18)
• THROUGH JEALOUSY OVER THE CORINTHIANS, WHO MADE MORE ACCOUNT OF THE FALSE APOSTLES THAN OF HIM, HE IS OBLIGED TO COMMEND HIMSELF AS IN MANY RESPECTS SUPERIOR. (2Co. 11:1-33)
• REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (2Co 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (2Co 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare 1Sa 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration.
• HE THREATENS A SEVERE PROOF OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, BUT PREFERS THEY WOULD SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY FOR IT. (2Co 13:1-14)

TSK: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The most remarkable circumstance in this Epistle, observes Mr. Scott, is the confidence of the Apostle in the goodness of his cause, and in the power of God to bear him out in it. Opposed as he then was by a powerful and sagacious party, whose authority, reputation, and interest were deeply concerned, and who were ready to seize on every thing that could discredit him, it is wonderful to hear him so firmly insist upon his apostolical authority, and so unreservedly appeal to the miraculous power which he has exercised and conferred at Corinth. So far from shrinking from the contest, as afraid of some discovery being made, unfavourable to him and the common cause, he, with great modesty and meekness indeed, but with equal boldness and decision, expressly declares that his opposers and despisers were the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with miraculous judgments, when as many of their deluded hearers had been brought to repentance and re-established in the faith, as proper means could in a reasonable time effect. It is inconceivable that a stronger internal testimony, not only of integrity, but of divine inspiration, can exist. Had there been anything of imposture among the Christians, it was next to impossible but such a conduct must have occasioned a disclosure of it. Of the effects produced by this latter epistle we have no circumstantial account; for the journey which St. Paul took to Corinth, after he had written it, is mentioned by St. Luke only in a few words (Act 20:2, Act 20:3). We know, however, that St. Paul was there after he had written this Epistle; that the contributions for the poor brethren at Jerusalem were brought to him from different parts to that city (Rom 15:26); and that, after remaining there several months, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of that church, by whom he must have been greatly respected, to the church of Rome (Rom 16:22, Rom 16:23). From this time we hear no more of the false teacher and his party; and when Clement of Rome wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul was considered by them as a divine apostle, to whose authority he might appeal without fear of contradiction. The false teacher, therefore, must either have been silenced by St. Paul, by virtue of his apostolical powers, and by an act of severity which he had threatened (2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3); or this adversary of the apostle had, at that time, voluntarily quitted the place. Whichever was the cause, the effect produced must operate as a confirmation of our faith, and as a proof of St. Paul’s divine mission.

TSK: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Co 1:1, Paul salutes the Corinthians; 2Co 1:3, he encourages them against troubles, by the comforts and deliverances which God had given him, as in all his afflictions, 2Co 1:8, so particularly in his late danger in Asia; 2Co 1:12, And calling both his own conscience and theirs to witness of his sincere manner of preaching the immutable truth of the gospel, 2Co 1:15. he excuses his not coming to them, as proceeding not of lightness, but of his lenity towards them.

Poole: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

ARGUMENT

Concerning the sacred penman as well of this as the former Epistle, and the church to whom this as well as that Epistle was sent, enough hath been said before. It is plain, that the apostle, when he wrote it, was in Macedonia; probably at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia, Act 16:12 , whither Paul went after the uproar that Demetrius had made at Ephesus, of which we read, Act 20:1 . The occasion of his writing this Second Epistle seemeth to be, partly the false teachers’ aspersing him:

1. As an inconstant man, because he had promised to come in person to Corinth, and was not yet come; the reason of which he showeth, 2Co 1:1-24 , was not levity, but the troubles he met with in Asia, and his desire to hear they had first reformed the abuses he had taxed them for.

2. As an imperious man, because of the incestuous person against whom he had wrote; which charge he avoids, by showing the necessity of his writing in that manner, and giving new orders for the restoring him, upon the repentance he had showed.

3. As a proud and vain glorious man.

4. As a contemptible person; base in his person, as he expresseth it.

The further occasions of his writing were: To commend them for their kind reception of and compliance with the precepts and admonitions of his former Epistle, and their kind reception of Titus: as also to exhort them to a liberal contribution to the necessities of the saints in Judea, to which they had showed their forwardness a year before: and his hearing that there was yet a party amongst them bad enough, that went on in vilifying him and his authority, as well as in other sinful courses; against whom he vindicateth himself, magnifying his office, assuring them he was about to come to Corinth; when they should find him present such as, being absent, he had by his letters declared himself, if they were not reformed. The substance therefore of this Epistle is partly apologetical, or excusatory, where he excuseth himself for his not coming to Corinth so soon as he thought, and for his so severe writing as to the incestuous person: partly hortatory, where he persuadeth them, more generally, to walk worthy of the gospel; more specially, 2Co 8:1-24 and 2Co 9:1-15 , to a liberal contribution to the saints: partly minatory, or threatening, where he threateneth severity against those whom, when he came amongst them, he should find contumacious and impenitent offenders. He concludes the Epistle (as usually) with a salutation of them, pious exhortations to them, and a prayer for them.

2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

2Co 1:1,2 Paul saluteth the Corinthians,

2Co 1:3-7 and blesseth God for the comforts and deliverances

given him, not solely for his own sake, but for the

comfort and encouragement of others also.

2Co 1:8-11 He telleth them of a deliverance he had lately had

from a great danger in Asia, and expresseth his trust

in God’ s protection for the future through their prayers.

2Co 1:12-14 He calleth both his own conscience and theirs to

witness his sincerity in preaching the gospel,

2Co 1:15-22 and excuseth his not coming to them, as not

proceeding from lightness,

2Co 1:23,24 but from lenity towards them.

The will of God here doth not signify the bare permission, but the calling and precept of God; he was called to be an apostle Rom 1:1 1Co 1:1 , making him a minister and a witness, Act 26:16 . His joining of Timothy with him, showeth both the great humility of the apostle, and his desire to give him a reputation in the churches, though he was a very young man. The Epistle is not directed only to the church of God which was at Corinth, (the metropolis of Peloponnesus), but also to all those Christians which lived in Achaia: by which name probably he doth not understand all Greece, (though that anciently had that name, from one Achaeus, that was king there, from whom the Grecians had the name of Achivi,) but that region of Peloponnesus which lay in a neck of land between the Aegean and Ionian Seas; which obtained that name in a more special and restrained sense.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Corinthians probably was written about a year after the first. Its contents are closely connected with those of the former epistle. The manner in which the letter St. Paul formerly wrote had been received, is particularly noticed; this was such as to fill his heart with gratitude to God, who enabled him fully to discharge his duty towards them. Many had shown marks of repentance, and amended their conduct, but others still followed their false teachers; and as the apostle delayed his visit, from his unwillingness to treat them with severity, they charged him with levity and change of conduct. Also, with pride, vain-glory, and severity, and they spake of him with contempt. In this epistle we find the same ardent affection towards the disciples at Corinth, as in the former, the same zeal for the honour of the gospel, and the same boldness in giving Christian reproof. The first six chapters are chiefly practical: the rest have more reference to the state of the Corinthian church, but they contain many rules of general application.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Co 1:1-11) The apostle blesses God for comfort in, and deliverance out of troubles.

(2Co 1:12-14) He professes his own and his fellow-labourers' integrity.

(2Co 1:15-24) Gives reasons for his not coming to them.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

In his former epistle the apostle had signified his intentions of coming to Corinth, as he passed through Macedonia (1Co 16:5), but, being providentially hindered for some time, he writes this second epistle to them about a year after the former; and there seem to be these two urgent occasions: - 1. The case of the incestuous person, who lay under censure, required that with all speed he should be restored and received again into communion. This therefore he gives directions about (ch. 2), and afterwards (ch. 7) he declares the satisfaction he had upon the intelligence he received of their good behaviour in that affair. 2. There was a contribution now making for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in which he exhorts the Corinthians to join (ch. 8, 2Co 9:1-15).

There are divers other things very observable in this epistle; for example, I. The account the apostle gives of his labours and success in preaching the gospel in several places, ch. 2. II. The comparison he makes between the Old and New Testament dispensation, ch. 3. III. The manifold sufferings that he and his fellow-labourers met with, and the motives and encouragements for their diligence and patience, ch. 4, 5. IV. The caution he gives the Corinthians against mingling with unbelievers, ch. 6. V. The way and manner in which he justifies himself and his apostleship from the opprobrious insinuations and accusations of false teachers, who endeavoured to ruin his reputation at Corinth, ch. 10-12, and throughout the whole epistle.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

After the introduction (2Co 1:1, 2Co 1:2) the apostle begins with the narrative of his troubles and God's goodness, which he had met with in Asia, by way of thanksgiving to God (2Co 1:3-6), and for the edification of the Corinthians (2Co 1:7-11). Then he attests his and his fellow-labourers' integrity (2Co 1:12-14), and afterwards vindicates himself from the imputation of levity and inconstancy (2Co 1:15-24).

Barclay: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS

The Greatness Of Corinth

A glance at the map will show that Corinth was made for greatness. The southern part of Greece is very nearly an island. On the west the Corinthian Gulf deeply indents the land and on the east the Saronic Gulf. All that is left to join the two parts of Greece together is a little isthmus only four miles across. On that narrow neck of land Corinth stands. Such a position made it inevitable that it should be one of the greatest trading and commercial centres of the ancient world. All traffic from Athens and the north of Greece to Sparta and the Peloponnese had to be routed through Corinth, because it stood on the little neck of land that connected the two.

Not only did the north to south traffic of Greece pass through Corinth of necessity, by far the greater part of the east to west traffic of the Mediterranean passed through her from choice. The extreme southern tip of Greece was known as Cape Malea (now called Cape Matapan). It was dangerous, and to round Cape Malea had much the same sound as to round Cape Horn had in later times. The Greeks had two sayings which showed what they thought of it--"Let him who sails round Malea forget his home," and, "Let him who sails round Malea first make his will."

The consequence was that mariners followed one of two courses. They sailed up the Saronic Gulf, and, if their ships were small enough, dragged them out of the water, set them on rollers, hauled them across the isthmus, and re-launched them on the other side. The isthmus was actually called the Diolkos, the place of dragging across. The idea is the same as that which is contained in the Scottish place name Tarbert, which means a place where the land is so narrow that a boat can be dragged from loch to loch. If that course was not possible because the ship was too large, the cargo was disembarked, carried by porters across the isthmus, and re-embarked on another ship at the other side. This four mile journey across the isthmus, where the Corinth Canal now runs, saved a journey of two hundred and two miles round Cape Malea, the most dangerous cape in the Mediterranean.

It is easy to see how great a commercial city Corinth must have been. The north to south traffic of Greece had no alternative but to pass through her; by far the greater part of the east to west trade of the Mediterranean world chose to pass through her. Round Corinth there clustered three other towns, Lechaeum at the west end of the isthmus, Cenchrea at the east end and Schoenus just a short distance away. Farrar writes, "Objects of luxury soon found their way to the markets which were visited by every nation in the civilized world--Arabian balsam, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goatsair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves."

Corinth, as Farrar calls her, was the Vanity Fair of the ancient world. Men called her The Bridge of Greece; one called her The Lounge of Greece. It has been said that if a man stands long enough in Piccadilly Circus he will in the end meet everyone in the country. Corinth was the Piccadilly Circus of the Mediterranean. To add to the concourse which came to it, Corinth was the place where the Isthmian Games were held, which were second only to the Olympics. Corinth was a rich and populous city with one of the greatest commercial trades in the ancient world.

The Wickedness Of Corinth

There was another side to Corinth. She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery. The word actually penetrated to the English language, and, in Regency times, a Corinthian was one of the wealthy young bucks who lived in reckless and riotous living. Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, "It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth." In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and the sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.

The History Of Corinth

The history of Corinth falls into two parts. She was a very ancient city. Thucydides, the Greek historian, claims that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it was in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which Jason sailed the seas, searching for the golden fleece. But in 146 B.C. disaster befell her. The Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece, Corinth was the leader of the opposition. But the Greeks could not stand against the disciplined Romans, and in 146 B.C. Lucius Mummius, the Roman general, captured Corinth and left her a desolate heap of ruins.

But any place with the geographical situation of Corinth could not remain a devastation. Almost exactly one hundred years later, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt her and she arose from her ruins. Now she became a Roman colony. More, she became a capital city, the metropolis of the Roman province of Achaea, which included practically all Greece.

In those days, which were the days of Paul, her population was very mixed. (i) There were the Roman veterans whom Julius Caesar had settled there. When a Roman soldier had served his time, he was granted the citizenship and was then sent out to some newly-founded city and given a grant of land so that he might become a settler there. These Roman colonies were planted all over the world, and always the backbone of them was the contingent of veteran regular soldiers whose faithful service had won them the citizenship. (ii) When Corinth was rebuilt the merchants came back, for her situation still gave her commercial supremacy. (iii) There were many Jews among the population. The rebuilt city offered them commercial opportunities which they were not slow to take. (iv) There was a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians and people from the east, with their exotic customs and their hysterical ways. Farrar speaks of "this mongrel and heterogeneous population of Greek adventurers and Roman bourgeois, with a tainting infusion of Phoenicians; this mass of Jews, ex-soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, trades-people, hucksters and agents of every form of vice." He characterizes her as a colony "without aristocracy, without traditions and without well-established citizens."

Remember the background of Corinth, remember its name for wealth and luxury, for drunkenness and immorality and vice, and then read 1Co_6:9-10 .

Are you not aware that the unrighteous will not inherit the

Kingdom of God? Make no mistake--neither fornicators, nor

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sensualists, nor homosexuals, nor

thieves, nor rapacious men, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor

robbers shall inherit the Kingdom of God--and such were some of

you.

In this hotbed of vice, in the most unlikely place in all the Greek world, some of Paulgreatest work was done, and some of the mightiest triumphs of Christianity were won.

Paul In Corinth

Paul stayed longer in Corinth than in any other city, with the single exception of Ephesus. He had left Macedonia with his life in peril and had crossed over to Athens. There he had had little success and had gone on to Corinth, and he remained there for eighteen months. We realize how little we really know of his work when we see that the whole story of that eighteen months is compressed by Luke into 17 verses (Act_18:1-17 ).

When Paul arrived in Corinth he took up residence with Aquila and Prisca. He preached in the synagogue with great success. With the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia, he redoubled his efforts, but the Jews were so stubbornly hostile that he had to leave the synagogue. He took up his residence with one Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. His most notable convert was Crispus, who was actually the ruler of the synagogue, and amongst the general public he had good success.

In the year A.D. 52 there came to Corinth as its new governor a Roman called Gallio. He was famous for his charm and gentleness. The Jews tried to take advantage of his newness and good nature and brought Paul to trial before him on a charge of teaching contrary to their law. But Gallio, with impartial Roman justice, refused to have anything to do with the case or to take any action. So Paul completed his work in Corinth and moved on to Syria.

The Correspondence With Corinth

It was when he was in Ephesus in the year A.D. 55 that Paul, learning that things were not all well in Corinth, wrote to the church there. There is every possibility that the Corinthian correspondence as we have it is out of order. We must remember that it was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that Paulcorrespondence was collected. In many churches it must have existed only on scraps of papyrus and the putting it together would be a problem: and it seems that, when the Corinthian letters were collected, they were not all discovered and were not arranged in the right order. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened.

(i) There was a letter which preceded 1 Corinthians. In 1Co_5:9 Paul writes, "I wrote you a letter not to associate with immoral men." This obviously refers to some previous letter. Some scholars believe that letter is lost without trace. Others think it is contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 . Certainly that passage suits what Paul said he wrote about. It occurs rather awkwardly in its context, and, if we take it out and read straight on from 2Co_6:13 to 2Co_7:2 , we get excellent sense and connection. Scholars call this letter The Previous Letter. (In the original letters there were no chapter or verse divisions. The chapters were not divided up until the thirteenth century and the verses not till the sixteenth, and because of that the arranging of the collection of letters would be much more difficult).

(ii) News came to Paul from various sources of trouble at Corinth. (a) News came from those who were of the household of Chloe (1Co_1:11 ). They brought news of the contentions with which the church was torn. (b) News came with the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus to Ephesus. (1Co_16:17 ). By personal contact they were able to fill up the gaps in Paulinformation. (c) News came in a letter in which the Corinthian Church had asked Paul guidance on various problems. In 1Co_7:1 Paul begins, "Concerning the matters about which you wrote..." In answer to all this information Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and despatched it to Corinth apparently by the hand of Timothy (1Co_4:17 ).

(iii) The result of the letter was that things became worse than ever, and, although we have no direct record of it, we can deduce that Paul paid a personal visit to Corinth. In 2Co_12:14 he writes, "The third time I am ready to come to you." In 2Co_13:1-2 , he says again that he is coming to them for the third time. Now, if there was a third time, there must have been a second time. We have the record of only one visit, whose story is told in Act_18:1-17 . We have no record at all of the second, but Corinth was only two or three daysailing from Ephesus.

(iv) The visit did no good at all. Matters were only exacerbated and the result was an exceedingly severe letter. We learn about that letter from certain passages in 2 Corinthians. In 2Co_2:4 Paul writes, "I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." In 2Co_7:8 he writes, "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it; for I see that that letter has grieved you, though only for a while." It was a letter which was the product of anguish of mind, a letter so severe that Paul was almost sorry that he ever sent it.

Scholars call this The Severe Letter. Have we got it? It obviously cannot be I Corinthians, because it is not a tear-stained and anguished letter. When Paul wrote it, it is clear enough that things were under control. Now if we read through 2 Corinthians we find an odd circumstance. In 2Cor 1-9 everything is made up, there is complete reconciliation and all are friends again; but at 2Cor 10 comes the strangest break. 2Cor 10-13 are the most heartbroken cry Paul ever wrote. They show that he has been hurt and insulted as he never was before or afterwards by any church. His appearance, his speech, his apostleship, his honesty have all been under attack.

Most scholars believe that 2Cor 10-13 are the severe letter, and that they have become misplaced when Paulletters were put together. If we want the real chronological course of Paulcorrespondence with Corinth, we really ought to read 2Cor 10-13 before 2Cor 1-9. We do know that this letter was sent off with Titus. (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:13 ).

(v) Paul was worried about this letter. He could not wait until Titus came back with an answer, so he set out to meet him (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:5 , 2Co_7:13 ). Somewhere in Macedonia he met him and learned that all was well, and, probably at Philippi, he sat down and wrote 2Cor 1-9, the letter of reconciliation.

Stalker has said that the letters of Paul take the roof off the early churches and let us see what went on inside. Of none of them is that truer than the letters to Corinth. Here we see what "the care of all the churches" must have meant to Paul. Here we see the heart-breaks and the joys. Here we see Paul, the shepherd of his flock, bearing the sorrows and the problems of his people on his heart.

The Corinthian Correspondence

Before we read the letters in detail let us set down the progress of the Corinthian correspondence in tabular form.

(i) The Previous Letter, which may be contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 .

(ii) The arrival of Chloepeople, of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, and of the letter to Paul from the Corinthian Church.

(iii) 1 Corinthians is written in reply and is despatched with Timothy.

(iv) The situation grows worse and Paul pays a personal visit to Corinth, which is so complete a failure that it almost breaks his heart.

(v) The consequence is The Severe Letter, which is almost certainly contained in 2Cor 10-13, and which was despatched with Titus.

(vi) Unable to wait for an answer, Paul sets out to meet Titus. He meets him in Macedonia, learns that all is well and, probably from Philippi, writes 2Cor 1-9, The Letter of Reconciliation.

The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with the divided state of the Church of God at Corinth. Instead of being a unity in Christ it was split into sects and parties, who had attached themselves to the names of various leaders and teachers. It is Paulteaching that these divisions had emerged because the Corinthians thought too much about human wisdom and knowledge and too little about the sheer grace of God. In fact, for all their so-called wisdom, they are really in a state of immaturity. They think that they are wise men, but really they are no better than babies.

FURTHER READING

2 Corinthians

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians (NCB; E)

J. Hering, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (translated by A. W. Heathcote and P. J. Allcock)

A. Plummer, 2 Corinthians (ICC; G)

R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (TC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Comforted To Comfort (2Co_1:1-7)

Driven Back On God (2Co_1:8-11)

Our Only Boast (2Co_1:12-14)

God's Yes In Jesus Christ (2Co_1:15-22)

When A Saint Rebukes (2Co_1:23-24; 2Co_2:1-4)

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church. One man in particular seems to have been the ringleader of the opposition (10:7). He had rallied the support of a significant minority. The issue was Paul's apostolic authority. His critics were claiming authority equal with Paul's. This was in effect a claim to apostolic authority on their part or a denial of the full apostolic authority of Paul.

News of continuing problems in Corinth reached Paul in Ephesus during his prolonged stay there during his third missionary journey. He then made a brief visit to Corinth. However his efforts to resolve the conflicts fell through (2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). Paul apparently suffered insult and lost face during that visit (2:5-8; 7:12). Consequently this was a painful visit for Paul. He then returned to Ephesus.

Paul's next step in dealing with the situation in Corinth was to send a severe letter from Ephesus by the hand of Titus and another unnamed brother (2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). He apparently directed this letter, now lost, at the party opposed to him and particularly its leader. Some commentators believe that 2 Corinthians 10-13 contains part of this letter, but the evidence for this is not convincing.¹

Paul evidently intended to receive Titus' report concerning the effects of this severe letter in Ephesus. However, persecution there made it expedient for Paul to leave that city earlier than he had anticipated (Acts 20:1). He found an open door for the gospel to the north in Troas. Eager to meet Titus who was taking the land route from Corinth back to Ephesus Paul moved west into Macedonia (2:12-13). There Titus met him and gave him an encouraging report (7:6-16). Most of the church had responded to Paul's directives and the church had disciplined the troublemakers (2:5-11). Unfortunately some in the congregation still refused to acknowledge Paul's authority over them (10:1-13:10).

Paul rejoiced at the repentance of the majority. However his concern for the unrepentant minority and his desire to pick up the money the Corinthians had begun to collect for their poorer brethren in Jerusalem led him to write 2 Corinthians. Along with these primary motives Paul also felt compelled to refute the charge of fickleness leveled at him by his critics. He had changed his travel plans and had not come to see them as he had said he would.

The whole situation provided him an opportunity to clarify the nature of Christian ministry.

Paul wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea, probably in the fall or winter of 56 A.D. A date a year earlier or later is possible.

Some commentators believe Paul wrote 1 Corinthians after his painful visit and after he wrote the severe letter.² I believe it is more probable that he wrote 1 Corinthians before these two events.³ It is very difficult to reconstruct the details of Paul's activities since the data available to us is incomplete.

Paul's Corinthian Contacts
Paul's founding visit	His "former letter"	The Corin-thians' letter to him	First Corin-thians	Paul's "painful visit"	His "severe letter"	Second Corin-thians	Paul's antici-pated visit

"2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter."⁴

"Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God's Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God's people."⁵

Message⁶

The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?

He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is ministry per se (philosophy of ministry), and there is ministry to the world (practice of ministry).

Let's consider first what Paul revealed about the ministry of the church per se. This is the way Paul spoke of ministry most often in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on the practice of ministry than on the philosophy of ministry.

Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. Jesus Christ is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church was having a major problem because some in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ as an apostle and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was a practical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bow to the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and responding appropriately to those He has appointed to various roles in the body. We identify these people by their gifts (divinely given abilities) and by their offices (divinely given positions).

Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church's ministry. He emphasized three primarily.

One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this in the first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in our texts, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort through encouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete in John 14-16. Paul both taught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfort always exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret to finding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is really proceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed, too.

A second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or a message that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thus, revelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personal encouragement. We, too, have received the same message to communicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation, and it is the source of our encouragement.

A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for and counted on the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through him as he ministered (1:11). He realized that his own prayers would not move God to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf. James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self rather than confidence in God.

In addition to the authority and resources of our ministry, Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three features mark experience in ministry.

First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in 2 Corinthians about the afflictions he experienced during his ministry. Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministry who is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcome the gospel. To them it is a death scent. We should expect to experience tribulation in ministry. We have all experienced this in witnessing to some extent.

Second, another thing that should mark our ministry is hope. God has revealed the end of our ministry. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and receive a reward one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty. The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and suffer discouragement rather than press toward the mark. The end of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.

Third, a mark of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealed and illustrated by his own attitude that no matter how response to our ministry may appear to us our ministry is always triumphant. The reason for this is that God is at work through His ministers. One of the problems Paul's critics in Corinth had and that we have is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather than realistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God has revealed is happening, not what appears to be happening.

Paul not only revealed much about ministry per se in 2 Corinthians, he also revealed a lot about the ministry of the church to the world. Three emphases predominate.

First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is: the Word of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. By "the Word" Paul meant the revelation God has given us. In his day it consisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he and the other New Testament prophets had received that were for all Christians. Paul contrasted his message and ours with the message of Moses and exulted in its superiority. God has removed the veil and we can now see His glory clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry to the world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world's sins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letter in all these respects. As these characteristics mark us we, too, will be ready to minister.

Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. In exercising its ministry the church does three things according to this epistle.

1. It exercises discipline to restore the erring to effective ministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of the rebellious critics in the Corinthian church to unity and usefulness.

2. The church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul's concern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be an encouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel could proceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond.

3. Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate the principle of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history, namely that those who have should share with those who have not. This applies not only to the gospel message but to the physical necessities of life (chs. 8-9).

From these emphases the message of the book emerges. The church needs to submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources and equipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its mission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation to the world.

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-11

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

II. Answers to insinuations about the sincerity of Paul's commitment to the Corinthians and to the ministry 1:12-7:16

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

2. The treatment of the offender and the result of the severe letter 2:5-17

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

3. The sufferings and supports of a minister of the gospel 4:7-5:10

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

C. Appeal for restoration of the Corinthians' confidence in him 6:11-7:16

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

2. The encouraging response of the Corinthians so far 7:5-16

III. Instructions concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea 8:1-9:15

A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7

B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15

C. The delegates of the churches 8:16-24

D. The anticipated visit of Paul 9:1-5

E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15

IV. Appeals concerning Paul's apostolic authority 10:1-13:10

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

2. Reply to the charge of weakness 10:7-11

3. Reply to the charge of intrusion 10:12-18

B. Claims made by Paul 11:1-12:18

1. Paul's reasons for making these claims 11:1-6

2. Freedom to minister without charge 11:7-15

3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33

4. Special revelations Paul received 12:1-10

5. Paul's supernatural miracles and paternal love 12:11-18

C. Exhortations in view of Paul's approaching visit 12:19-13:10

1. Paul's concerns 12:19-21

2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10

V. Conclusion 13:11-14

A. The exhortation 13:11-12

B. The salutation 13:13

C. The benediction 13:14

Constable: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The subject and design of this second Epistle to the Corinthians, is much the same as of the former. He comforts and congratulates with those who were now reformed by his admonitions. He blames the faulty with apostolical liberty; and being forced to justify himself and his proceedings against the upstart false teachers, he gives an ample account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces, which God had bestowed upon him. This Epistle was written not long after the first, (an. 57. [in the year 57.]) some months before that to the Romans, from some place in Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, as marked at the end of divers Greek copies, though it is observed, that those subscriptions are not much to be relied upon. (Witham) --- In this Epistle St. Paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former, and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. Hence he treats of true penance, and of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament. He cautions the faithful against false teachers, and the society of infidels. He gives an account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces which God hath bestowed on him. (Challoner) --- St. Paul, not being able to come to the Corinthians as soon as he had promised, writes this Epistle to inform them, that it was not through inconstancy, but on account of several weighty reasons, which had hitherto hindered him. Several other reasons, likewise, compelled him to write. For during his absence, several false teachers of the Jews had come amongst them, teaching them that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses, in order to be saved. St. Paul, therefore, first excuses himself, by saying, that the afflictions and troubles he had met with, had hindered him from coming to them. He next orders the fornicator to be restored to favour; after which, he extols his apostleship, forming a comparison between the law of Christ, and of Moses, wherein he blames the false teachers. He then subjoins an exhortation to a pious and holy life, with liberality in their alms, after the example of the Macedonians. As the false teachers had been very industrious in establishing their own reputation, by detracting from that of St. Paul, he enumerates his own sufferings, and the favours he had received from God, shewing that he had much more reason to glory than they; and concludes by exhorting them to correct those faults with which they still remained infected. (Estius) --- This letter may be justly appreciated as a perfect masterpiece of that animated and solid eloquence, which all interpreters so much admire in St. Paul. (Bible de Vence)

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Gill: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

This epistle, according to the subscription at the end of it, was written from Philippi of Macedonia; and though the subscriptions annexed to the epistles are not always to be depended on, yet it seems very likely that this was written from thence; for the apostle not finding Titus at Troas, as he expected, went into Macedonia, where he met with him, and had an account from him of the success of his first epistle; of the state and condition of the church, and of the temper and disposition of mind in which the members of it were, and which gave him great satisfaction; upon which he immediately wrote this second epistle, and sent it by the same person to them; see 2Co 2:12, 2Co 7:5. It is very probable it might be written the year after the former; and so it is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the year 56, as the former is in the year 55; though some place this in the year 60, and the other in 59. The occasion of this epistle was partly to excuse his not coming to them according to promise, and to vindicate himself from the charge of unfaithfulness, levity, and inconstancy on that account; and partly, since what he had wrote about the incestuous person, had had a good effect both upon him and them, to direct them to take off the censure that had been laid upon him, and restore him to their communion, and comfort him; likewise to stir them up to finish the collection for the poor saints they had begun; as also to defend himself against the calumnies of the false teachers, who were very industrious to sink his character and credit in this church; which he does by observing the doctrines of the Gospel he preached, which were far more glorious than, and abundantly preferable to, the ministration of the law of Moses, which those men desired to be teachers of; as likewise the success of his ministry in every place; the many sufferings he had underwent for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; the high favours and privileges he had received of the Lord, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles done by him in proof of his apostleship; and in which are interspersed many things useful and instructive.

Gill: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 1

This chapter contains the inscription of the epistle, the salutation of the persons to whom it is written, the preface to it, and the first part of it, in which is the apostle's defence of himself from the charge of fickleness and inconstancy. The inscription is in 2Co 1:1, in which an account is given of the person, the writer of this epistle, by his name Paul, and by his office, an apostle of Jesus Christ, which is ascribed to the will of God as the spring and cause of it; and with himself he joins Timothy, whom he calls a brother: also an account is given of the persons to whom the epistle is inscribed, who are both the church at Corinth, and all the saints throughout the region of Achaia, of which Corinth was the chief city: the salutation, and which is common to all the epistles of the Apostle Paul, is in 2Co 1:2, and the preface begins 2Co 1:3, with a thanksgiving to God, who is described by the relation he stands in to Christ, as his Father, by the manifold mercies and blessings he is the author and donor of, and by the consolation he administers; an instance of which is given, 2Co 1:4, in the apostle and his companions, who had been comforted by him; the end of which was, that they might be instruments of comforting others in like troubles with the same consolations; the great goodness of God in which is illustrated by proportioning their consolation by Christ to their sufferings for him, 2Co 1:5, and the end both of their afflictions and their comforts is repeated and explained; and by a dilemma it is shown, that both were for the good of the saints at Corinth, 2Co 1:6, and a strong assurance is given, that as they shared in sufferings for Christ, they would partake of consolation by him as they had done, 2Co 1:7. Next the apostle, in proof of what he had said, gives an instance of the trouble he had been in, and of the comfort and deliverance he had received, which he would not have the Corinthians ignorant of: he mentions the place where it was, in Asia, and gives an account of the nature of the affliction, how great it was; it was out of measure, above the strength of man, and induced despair of life, 2Co 1:8, so that the apostle, and those that were with him in it, expected nothing but death, and were under the sentence of it in their own apprehensions; the end of God in suffering which, was to take them off of all self-confidence, and to engage their trust in God, to which the consideration of his power in raising the dead is a strong argument, 2Co 1:9. And indeed this deliverance, which God wrought, for the apostle, and his friends, was a deliverance as it were from death, and a very great one; and which had this effect upon them, the designed and desired end, trust and confidence in God for future deliverance, having had an experience of past and present, 2Co 1:10, which deliverance the apostle acknowledges, was owing to the prayers of the Corinthians, as a means or helping cause of it; and which favour was bestowed thereby for this end, that as it came by the means of many, thanks might be returned by many for it, 2Co 1:11. And the reason why the apostle, and his fellow ministers, had such an interest in the prayers of the Corinthians, was their agreeable conversation in the world, and particularly at Corinth, which their consciences bore witness to, and they could reflect upon with pleasure; it being through the grace of God with great simplicity and sincerity, and not with carnal craft and subtlety: or this is mentioned by the apostle to remove the charge of levity, and to vindicate himself and others from it, 2Co 1:12, which he next enters upon, premising that the constant course of their lives was such as before described, and which there was no reason to doubt would always continue such; for the truth of which he appeals to what they had seen, and owned to be in them, 2Co 1:13, and that it was acknowledged, at least in part, that the apostles were their rejoicing, or of whom they boasted as to their conduct and conversation, even as they were persuaded they would be matter of rejoicing in the day of Christ to them, 2Co 1:14. And then the apostle acknowledges his intention and promise of coming to them, which was in confidence of their value for him, and of their being real Christians and persevering ones; and for this end, that he might establish them in the grace which they had received, 2Co 1:15, and also, after he had passed by them into Macedonia, and was returned from thence to them again, that he might be helped on by them in his journey to Jerusalem, with the collection for the poor saints there, 2Co 1:16. But then he denies that he used levity, or carnal policy and purposes, or was guilty of any contradiction; all which expresses by certain interrogations, 2Co 1:17, which confirms by the ministration of the Gospel among them, which was all of apiece, without contradiction for the truth of which he calls God to witness; and so argues from the uniformity of his ministry, to the constancy of his word of promise, 2Co 1:18. Which argument he amplifies and enlarges on, by observing the subject matter of the Gospel ministry, which is Jesus Christ the Son of God; and which, though preached by different ministers, himself, Silvanus, and Timothy, yet was the same, had no contrariety in it, as preached by the one, and by the other, 2Co 1:19, and therefore there was no reason to conclude that he was fickle and inconstant in his promise to them, when he was so invariable in his ministry among them: besides, as all the promises of God are sure and certain, being made by the God of truth, and being in Christ, and the performance of them being for the glory of God by the saints; so the promises of every good man, in imitation of God and Christ, are firmly and constantly observed, as much as can be by frail and finite creatures, 2Co 1:20; and that the apostle, and his fellow ministers, were not so fickle and changeable as they were represented, neither in their principles, nor in their practices, the apostle takes notice of some blessings of grace, which they enjoyed in common with other saints, and with the Corinthians; such as stability in Christ, the unction of divine grace, the seal and earnest of the Spirit in their hearts; all which they had from God, and which kept them close to God, and preserved them in his grace, and from a fickle variable temper of mind, and from changeableness either in doctrine or conduct, 2Co 1:21. And then the apostle proceeds to give the true reason why he had not as yet come to Corinth, according to his promise, which was on their account, and not his own, that they might not come under that severe discipline and correction, which their faults required; and for the truth of this he calls God to witness, 2Co 1:23. But lest it should be objected that this was assuming a dominion over them, a lording it over God's heritage, he observes, that he and his fellow ministers did not pretend to have dominion over their faith, only to be helpers of their joy, 2Co 1:24.

College: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

Studying 2 Corinthians plunges the modern reader back to the real, tumultuous world of early Christianity. The simple ideals of sharing and goodwill described in Acts 2:42-47 seem to have little place among the diverse converts from this boomtown of Corinth where Paul chooses to anchor his Greek mission. Rather, this microcosm of the early church bickers and accuses, revels in disorder and confusion, reeks of unrenounced pagan practices, and uncritically pursues self-promotion and even disloyalty to Paul, its founder.

When we speak of restoring the NT church, the Corinthian church is not what we have in mind. But maybe this is where we should really start: a real community of believers struggling to understand and implement their Christian faith against the helter-skelter backdrop of values and principles they desired to leave behind. As we understand what Paul teaches this troubled church, we will learn badly needed principles to help bring to maturity our own, real churches which inherit the same struggle.

Second Corinthians stands in stark contrast to Paul's other NT writings in a number of ways. Other letters, like 1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are carefully ordered, easily outlined, logical, controlled, as Paul confidently responds to carefully gauged concerns. Methodically, he establishes crucial, theological principles as the basis for practical, behavioral appeals.

By contrast, 2 Corinthians is chaotic and disjointed. Digressions lead the reader far afield before returning to the point. So uneven is 2 Corinthians, that many scholars suggest it is a composite of four or five writings, even a number of conservative scholars admitting two. Intensity, emotion, defensiveness, and second-guessing rather than controlled reasoning bind this epistle together. We see Paul at his weakest, basest, most human. Yet seeing him work through the truth of the gospel in the midst of exasperating difficulties is enlightening.

To a certain extent, it is healthy for our lofty ideals of this giant to be punctured and brought down to reality, even as the Corinthian church does so for our view of the early church. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians at this historical juncture is ugly, and readers deserve to be warned about how disconcerting seeing this can be.

These features of 2 Corinthians make studying and understanding the text much more dependent than usual on grasping the historical circumstances behind and leading up to its writing. Without a clear grasp of the historic story, hopeless confusion will engulf efforts to interpret the text at a number of points.

So, study of 2 Corinthians must begin by seeking to understand the Corinth of Paul's day and Paul's relationship to the local church there before preceding to a reliable interpretation of the text.

THE CITY OF CORINTH

Fortunately, Corinth is a NT city we know a great deal about. It has been heavily excavated and was minutely described by classical writers like Strabo and Dio Chrysostom.

The city that Paul entered in A.D. 50 had been resurrected from the ashes of the old city burned to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C. Having laid in ruins for 100 years, two years before his death in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that Corinth (and also Carthage) should be rebuilt. Although located just 60 miles from Athens on the narrow isthmus strategically joining the Greek mainland to the Peloponnesus, the new Corinth was built and organized as a Roman city. Its colonists were gleaned from freedmen, former slaves originating from Syria, Egypt, Judea, Greece, and from retiring Roman soldiers.

The city's layout and its buildings were Roman, as was its governmental organization and law. Its official language was Latin, although Greek was the common language for business and conversation. The people prized Roman articles, importing them in great quantities. In addition to the four magistrates elected each year and its city council, it was administrated by a proconsul appointed annually by the Roman senate.

Corinth's dominance over the five-mile wide isthmus insured economic vitality. Ships traveling between Italy and Asia Minor were happy to pay the fee to cross the isthmus rather than sail the extra 200 miles south around treacherous Cape Malae. Besides, Corinth had even constructed a grooved pavement, called the Diolkos, between the ports on either side of the isthmus on which smaller ships could be hauled in wheeled vehicles. For a larger ship, the goods were loaded on transport carts and reloaded onto another ship waiting at the other harbor.

Julius Caesar dreamed of increasing Corinth's stock by constructing a canal across the isthmus. Not until Nero, A.D. 67., was such a project begun. Actual completion, however was not achieved until modern times, in 1893.

With the two ports, Laechaeum, on the Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchraea, on the Saronic Gulf, Corinth thrived as a center for trade. The major land route between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesus also went through it. Besides shipbuilding and repair, it hosted bronze, tile, and pottery factories, as well as the necessary warehousing for transportable goods. Corinth's market areas boasted hundreds of stalls filled with craftsmen plying their trade, locals selling merchandise and food, as well as visitors from throughout the empire hawking imported items. They even had places which sold drinks cooled by underground water systems. Paul himself, we know, took up a leather-working stall in this area for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-3).

New Corinth was an eclectic, international city from its inception. In Paul's day, it was a bustling, wide open, boomtown, with over 80,000 inhabitants, and growing every day. It had already outstripped Athens politically, replacing it as the capital of Achaia.

Corinth's prestige was further enhanced by its hosting of the Isthmian Games, second only in significance to the Olympics. Held every two years in Corinth since A.D. 3, these games drew thousands of tourists and lots of business. The city's most prestigious political official was the one responsible for administering the games, occupying a prominent year-round governmental office. The games were dedicated to the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and featured oratory, music, and drama, as well as athletic contests. A dramatic theater as well as a 20,000 seat stadium were used for these events.

Corinth's eclecticism revealed itself in an array of religious choices established by its multicultural inhabitants. Egyptians promoted the cults of Isis and Osiris. Isis was worshiped as a god for sailors because the myth tells of her enduring search on the seas for her betrayed and lost husband Osiris. Osiris is a god of afterlife, who after his death was resurrected to become head of the underworld.

Greeks and Romans honored Poseidon, god of the sea; Athena, goddess of war, the sea, cities and the arts; Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility; Apollo, god of prophecy; Asklepios, god of healing; and emperors beginning with Julius Caesar. Prominent temples and statues are dedicated to all of these. Apollos often features prominently in colonized cities as an ode of good fortune. His famous Delphic oracle is only some 30 miles from Corinth. The much publicized report that Old Corinth's temple to Aphrodite housed over 1,000 sacred prostitutes is regarded as Athenian slander and is not so certain to still be functioning this way in Paul's day, although this does not mean to imply that Corinth was any more sexually pristine than any other seaport.

One of the busiest religious centers in Paul's day was the Asklepium. Comparable to a modern-day health club, people came here to bathe in its fountain, sleep (healing in their dreams), excercise, read, and dine (on sacrificial meat, cf. 1 Cor 8:10; 10:21). Replicas of body parts found in excavations were offered to the Asklepios by thankful beneficiaries of his healing.

Though not a god, Sisyphus, was considered one of the founding kings of ancient Corinth. Noted for his craftiness, in Greek mythology he was banished to Hades with the everlasting task of pushing a rock up a hill only to have it slip back down. For the Corinthian in Paul's day, he stands for successful cunning in business, but behind the temporary luster, perhaps, he signifies the emptiness of life's ambitions that lurked in the background of people's thoughts.

Judaism came with the early Jewish colonists and seems to have thrived. A dynamic synagogue certainly was functioning when Paul arrived, according to Acts 18:4-17. Also, a building inscription reading "Synagogue of the Hebrews" has been found by archaeologists along the Lechaeum road. Although the inscription is somewhat later than Paul's day, its location in the city center suggests the prominence of Judaism from the early days of New Corinth. Significant increases to the Jewish population likely occurred in A.D. 19 and in the late 40s when Tiberius and then Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. According to Acts 18:2, the latter purge is what brought Aquila and Priscilla and their tentmaking business to Corinth for the eighteen months Paul evangelized there. As Acts 18:8,17 indicate, the Jewish community probably had a certain amount of freedom to manage its own affairs and to appoint its own officials.

Due to Roman influence, Corinthians banded together into self-governing clubs and societies of 10 to 15 people which met in homes around the city. These clubs were delineated by individual trades or professions. Something like small unions, they provided vital social interaction and shared meals but even underwrote members' burial expenses from their kitty of dues. Although each had its sponsoring god, they were not religious in nature.

Most likely, the Corinthian church of Paul's day took on the pattern of these clubs as they met in various homes throughout the city. This helps explain the household factions decried in 1 Cor 1:10-12 and even the food-related problems of 1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34.

Corinth in the time of Paul was a city of wealth and prosperity. The families who had come a generation or two previously had worked hard. They had carved out successful lives by their own sweat and ingenuity. Like American immigrants, they were proud of their accomplishments, which they demonstrated in their proliferation of self-commending inscriptions around the city. But like the grandchildren of immigrants today, the Corinthians of Paul's day were noted for their superficial materialism and moral perversity. Such traits are epitomized by the fact that before the century was over, Corinth would become the first Greek city in the Roman Empire to hold bloodthirsty gladiatorial shows.

PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS

Paul's rocky, seven-year relationship with the Corinthians begins in the fall of A.D. 50 as he enters Corinth on what becomes the last stop of his second missionary journey. Already on the road for a year, he had established churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, despite opposition from Gentiles, Jews, and intellectuals (Acts 16-17). As Acts 18 describes, he enters the din of Corinth alone but is quickly befriended by Aquila and Priscilla, who were probably already Christians when they came to Corinth from Rome. For eighteen months the three of them lived, worked, and spread the gospel together there, eventually joined by Silas and Timothy.

At first, Paul shared the gospel and fielded questions in the Jewish synagogue. It wasn't too long, however, before stiff opposition to his presence arose, and he was ejected. However, he took with him many new Christians from among the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, as well as Jews including the head of the synagogue, Crispus. Boldly, they set up shop for the first church right next door in the home of Titius Justus. Presumably, they continued to meet there and in other homes around the city for the next eighteen months, since God had instructed Paul to remain in Corinth despite the risks of conflict.

Sparks did fly, and at one point the Jews pressed charges against Paul for breaking Jewish law before Gallio, the Roman proconsul. Quite rightly, Gallio rebuffed the Jewish accusations as being outside any Roman concern. Although this may seem like a relatively minor incident in the life of Paul, the mention of Gallio in Acts 18:14 emerges as the single most important event enabling us to date Paul's life with accuracy. The reason for this is that archaeologists have discovered a datable inscription about a boundary dispute from Emperor Claudius to Gallio which places Gallio's one-year term between A.D. 51 and 52. Anchored by Paul's encounter with Gallio being A.D. 51, the rest of Paul's life can be dated backward and forward from time periods provided in the Acts and his letters.

Upon leaving Corinth, Paul sailed to Syria, probably Antioch, before quickly setting out over land to revisit the previously established churches in Asia Minor and then settling in Ephesus for three years. While in Ephesus, he sent the Corinthians three letters and slipped across the Aegean Sea in a vessel for a brief, surprise visit.

The first letter, commonly known as the "previous letter," is mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9-11. Given the wild immorality of Corinth, it is not surprising that Paul emphasized separation from such people in this letter. However, it has never been found, although a few scholars believe 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 may have originally been part of it.

Next, Paul received a letter from the Corinthians asking various specific questions about Christian life and practice. He is also informed verbally from members of Chloe's household (1 Cor 1:11) about the factionalism that is hurting the church's witness. He responded with the letter we know of as 1 Corinthians. During this period, Timothy was dispatched to Corinth for a brief time (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10) as Paul's personal ambassador, perhaps to give further voice to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians or to other issues Paul anticipated. We have no indication as to how long Timothy stayed.

Paul's brief trip to Corinth in A.D. 54 and the letter on its heels upon his return are chief events which underlie Paul's writing of 2 Corinthians in A.D. 56. We don't know why Paul went. Maybe Timothy reported that Paul's personal presence was needed. Possibly, conservative agitators had followed Paul to Corinth as they previously had to Galatia and were stirring up trouble, causing the Corinthians to second-guess Paul's credibility (2 Cor 11:13). What we do know is that this trip, usually described as "the painful visit" (2 Cor 2:1), was a complete disaster. Paul left angry and humiliated. Apparently, he confronted the ringleader of the trouble (perhaps someone in the church who had been influenced by the outsiders) face to face but when the man insulted him, no one in the church came to Paul's defense.

Speculation regarding the accusations hurled at Paul include the illegitimacy of his authority over the Corinthians and his misuse of funds collected for the Jerusalem offering (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 7:2; 8:11). This was not a theological issue so much as one of personal integrity. Paul speaks of his being hurt emotionally most by the fact that the church did not side with him (2 Cor 2:5-11).

Upon his return, Paul wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, "the severe letter" (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Although not existing today, as described in 2 Cor 2:4-11 and 7:5-13, it was undoubtedly the most emotional and strident of any of Paul's letters. Apparently, he unleashed his anger and disappointment, scolding the church for not supporting him and demanding that the majority of the church take charge and discipline the offender as well as apologize to him. The letter is so harsh that Paul seems genuinely afraid ("fears within" - 2 Cor 7:5) that it will drive the church farther away from him and from Christ. But he sees no choice; this situation can't be left like it is.

Titus received the formidable task of delivering this explosive letter into the charged atmosphere of the Corinthian church and carrying out its demands. Paul's anxieties over Titus's success seem to overwhelm him as he waits for news. Apparently, the arrangements with Titus were that they would meet in Troas after a set period of time, maybe as long as six months. Second Corinthians 2:12 tells us that Paul went by land up to Troas, probably in A.D. 55 but was crushed to find Titus was not there. Remaining for some time evangelizing, maybe a month or so, he crossed over to Macedonia, probably Philippi, desperate to find Titus there. Finally, Titus arrived with the great news that the Corinthians - or most of them - were back in the fold. Genuinely remorseful over their hurtful behavior toward Paul, they had, indeed, dealt with the offender and expressed their renewed devotion to him (2 Cor 7:7,11,12).

The letter we call 2 Corinthians historically comes as Paul's fourth letter to Corinth. Buoyed by Titus's positive report, Paul writes this highly emotional letter, sending it back with Titus (2 Cor 7:17), probably A.D. 56. The letter interacts over and over with the events of the Painful Visit and the Severe Letter. Paul gushes with joy over the Corinthians' response (2 Cor 7:7,13-16), even recommending that they lift the punishment on the person who offended him (2 Cor 2:7). However, the tone of the letter is extremely defensive as Paul squirms under pressure from the Corinthians (most likely as advised by Titus) to toot his own horn regarding his own apostolic credentials. Out of his love for them, but against his own convictions against boasting, he is willing to explain the superiority of his apostleship in terms the Corinthians seem to require. These terms - such as providing letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1) and lists of accomplishments (2 Cor 6:3-13; 11:16-12:10) - Paul regards as superficial and unnecessary (2 Cor 3:2-3; 10:7) and probably reflect the influence of the conservative agitators upon the Corinthians. Paul seems to know he must respond, however uncomfortable it is for him, in order to block any further inroads from these outsiders and thus reinforce his renewed relationship with the Corinthians.

Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth armed with Paul's commendation within the letter to spur the church to complete its collection of the offering for the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:10-24). Paul followed a few months later (2 Cor 12:14; Acts 20:3) and remained in Corinth three months. During this period, he wrote Romans, but we know nothing of his interaction with the Corinthian church. Presumably, he finalized the Corinthian offering, but he must have worked diligently to solidify this troubled church and contend personally with the outside agitators and their remaining pockets of influence. At any rate, once the various representatives from the Greek and Asian churches arrived in Corinth with their offerings (Acts 20:1-6), he tried to set sail with them to Syria but, discovering treachery from the Jewish community in Corinth, he and the others traveled first to Troas, and, then, set sail from there.

We have no certainty of further communication or visitation between Paul and the Corinthian church after this. Possibly, following release from his first Roman imprisonment, he returned to Corinth and other churches in Greece and Asia Minor, as the Pastoral epistles suggest (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:20).

THE UNITY OF 2 CORINTHIANS

One may rightly comment that the literary unity of 2 Corinthians "cannot just be presupposed." Analyses which question whether various sections of 2 Corinthians are original to it have come long and hard during the past two centuries of critical scholarship. Second Corinthian's sharp shifts in content and uneven tone make it the most susceptible of all the NT books to patchwork theories despite the fact that none of the Greek manuscripts (dating back to the third century) give the slightest hint that 2 Corinthians was ever anything different than what we read today. Although the ebb and flow of research has sidelined many conjectures, questions still remain regarding some parts of 2 Corinthians. As many as nine sections of 2 Corinthians have been scrutinized. However, just five will be discussed here.

First, 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 has been noted as at one time existing separately from 2 Corinthians. Even a casual reader is jolted at the jump between the travelogue commentary in 2:12-13 and the military parade description of the gospel in 2:13-17 which opens a five-chapter philosophy of apostolic ministry. It is all the more noticeable when, beginning at 7:5, the travelogue picks up again and continues on until 7:16. However, upon closer perusal, scholars are increasingly reluctant to name this as part of a separate letter. Despite the abruptness between 2:13 and 2:14, the theme of human weakness and divine power in 2:12-17 connects to 1:8-10, and the theme of divine ownership connects 1:22 and 2:14. Despite the change of subject between 7:4 and 7:5, the verbal links supplied by "encouragement" (7:4,13), "joy" (7:4,7) and "troubles" (7:4,5) supply sturdy connections. Besides, the efforts to postulate yet another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians or to connect this to the Severe Letter are unwarranted. More recent efforts to anaylze 2 Corinthians 1-7 through the eyes of Roman rhetoric as well as chiastic structure loudly confirm separation of 2:14-7:4 as ill-conceived. Certainly, it is a digression but not without purpose and point to the context as a whole.

Second, perhaps less obvious to the casual reader because it is such a short section is 2 Cor 6:14-7:1. Here, again, though, the careful reader observes an interruption between 6:13 ("Open wide your hearts also") and 7:2 ("Make room for us in your hearts"). Scholarly analysis of these six verses suggests that not only are they out of place, they don't sound like Paul, using six words he never uses elsewhere in his writings nor used by anyone else in the NT ( hapax legomenae ). Is this a snippet of something someone else said or wrote that Paul has adapted into his material, or is it something Paul wrote or spoke at another time and place that he decides to use here?

Despite some of the unusual language, Pauline themes do appear here: the church as the temple of God, the polarization of righteousness and unrighteousness as well as between light and dark. Also, plenty of characteristic Pauline language occurs: "living God" (2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9), "unbeliever" (twelve other occurrences in 1 and 2 Cor), and "holiness" (Rom 1:4; 1 Thess 3:13). Although conclusions vary, many today incline toward this section being from Paul.

Eyeing the language of separation from unrighteousness, some have been tempted to conclude that 6:14-7:1 is part of the "previous" letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. However, the point is explicitly different. Paul emphasizes that in the previous letter he urged separation from the immorality of believers not dissociation from unbelievers as emphasized in 6:14-7:1.

Most likely, then, Paul himself has inserted this pre-formed, self-contained unit of material from previous teaching, either oral or written, perhaps influenced by others. Interesting comparisons to Qumran materials as well as writings of Philo have been made. The placement exactly here in 2 Corinthians is so awkward as to be unlikely to come from anyone other than Paul. However, two points should be kept in mind. One is that Paul dictated this letter as he did all his letters. This fact enhances the potential for distraction, interruption, and loose digressions such as this. A second point is that although the section's relationship to the immediately previous verses is not obvious, as one backs up to 6:1 and reads of Paul's concern about receiving "God's grace in vain" or to 5:19 to see Paul's emphasis on people "no longer living for themselves but for him who died for them," Paul's emphasis on separation and holiness in 6:14-7:1 fits well.

Probably inconceivable to the casual reader is the suggestion that 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 both were not originally part of 2 Corinthians. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 8 - repetition of information about Titus (7:13-15; 8:16-17), presumption of knowledge about the two brothers coming with him (8:18,22), or even evidence that 2 Corinthians 8 as well as 2 Corinthians 9 are formal business letters - do not convince many. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 9, first proposed by Semler 200 years ago, that 2 Corinthians 9 was originally a letter sent to Christians outside Corinth, are more formidable, and give scholars more pause.

What pulls them up short is the language Paul uses to refer to the collection ("service") in 9:1, which, in Greek, reads like a first mention of the collection. In addition to that, the regional reference to Achaia in 9:2 and the repetition of information from chapter 8 in chapter 9 regarding the collection give added support to the idea of chapter 9 being originally independent.

On the other side of the question is the fact that Paul's reference to the collection in 9:1 is modified by ( men gar , "and for") which suggests a resumption of a previous subject perhaps after a brief pause in dictation. The repetition of details regarding the collection is probably emphatic, and the regional reference to Achaia seems unlikely to exclude Corinth. Tipping the scale against an independent chapter 9, as noted by Furnish, are two references in chapter 9 which presume information from chapter 8: the mention of the brothers (9:3; 8:18) and the emphasis on their completing the collection (9:4-5; 8:7-15).

Admittedly, this is a close call. However, the evidence does not demand that chapters 8 and 9 are two separate letters about the collection, one to Corinth, and one to Achaia. Rather, these are interdependent chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8 dealing with the details of the collection project and chapter 9 emphasizing motivation for the project, as noted by Danker.

Fourth, without a doubt the most serious challenge to the unity of 2 Corinthians comes from chapters 10-13. As long ago as 1870, Hausrath broadcast his belief that in these chapters, he had discovered the missing "severe" letter to the Corinthians. No doubt, in chapters 10-13 Paul erupts into harsh tones of anger and disappointment which seem to undercut completely the exuberance and joy which he builds up to by chapters 7, 8, and 9.

But Hausrath looked closer and pointed to evidence that chapters 10-13 were written previous to chapters 1-9. Particularly he saw passages in chapters 1-9 written in the past tense which appear to allude to passages from chapters 10-13 written in future tenses, such as 1:23 which says that Paul "did not return" to them in order to spare them, corresponding to 13:2 in which Paul asserts that he "will not return" in order to spare them or when Paul says in 2:3-4 that he "wrote" them out of great distress and in 13:10 when he says "I write" so that I may not have to be harsh. Hausrath also contends that Paul's reference to Rome (west of Corinth) as "regions beyond you" in 2 Cor 10:16 makes much better sense if he is in Ephesus (east of Corinth), where he wrote the Severe Letter, rather than Macedonia (north of Corinth), where he wrote 2 Corinthians.

Criticism against Hausrath's identification of 2 Cor 10-13 with the "severe" letter has withered its persuasiveness among scholars. Primarily, chapters 10-13 do not contain something we know specifically was in the Severe Letter: Paul's demand that an individual who offended him be punished (2:5-6; 7:12). Also, chapters 10-13 promise a visit (12:14; 13:1), but the Severe Letter was sent in place of a Painful Visit (1:23; 2:1). Regarding "regions beyond you," the language need not be taken so literally and the Macedonian region should be recognized as much more culturally distinct from Achaia than it looks like on a map.

More appealing to scholars of all stripes, including many conservatives, is to view 2 Cor 10-13 as a separate, fifth letter, written after Titus returns with new, bad news after delivering 2 Corinthians 1-9. This position still takes into account Hausrath's future tense passages. It helps make sense of 2 Cor 12:18 which refers to Titus's visit in the past tense when it was in the planning stage in 2 Corinthians 7-9. Also, it explains the increased strident tones of chapters 10-13 as Paul's response to new, outside influences claiming some kind of rival apostolic authority to Paul's (11:13; 12:11) rather than to internal problems which seem to be his concern in chapters 1-9.

This way of viewing chapters 10-13 is attractive but is not demanded by the evidence. As Witherington points out, the past (aorist) tenses describing Titus's visit in 12:17-18 need not be real. Especially as Paul reaches the end of the book, they could well be epistolary (spoken from the standpoint of the audience reading the letter). The mention of the unnamed brother traveling with Titus does correspond with 2 Cor 8:18,22. Reading 12:17-18 this way opens up the very real possibility that Paul could have received new information about problems in Corinth before sending 2 Corinthians but after writing chapters 1-9. This could explain the gulf between chapters 10-13 as well as an entirely separate letter.

Other ways which account for the change of tone in chapter 10-13 have to do with how one reads the letter. Perhaps chapters 1-9 are directed to the majority of the church which has fallen into line with Paul after the Painful Visit, the Severe Letter, and Titus's hard work while chapters 10-13 are to the minority who are still under the sway of outside opposition to Paul. After all, 2 Cor 2:6 does speak of "the majority" which imposed discipline upon the offender named in the Severe Letter.

Perhaps, as a growing group of scholars are showing, Paul's heightened criticism of the Corinthians in chapters 10-13 concludes a calculated rhetorical plan employing counterattack ( synkrisis ) or strong emotional appeal ( peroratio ) to win his defense against the charges being leveled at him by the Corinthians. One must admit that Paul never relaxes from a defensive posture in 2 Corinthians from the beginning to the end. While Paul's harsh tones in chapters 10-13 following the lead up in chapters 7, 8, and 9 may seem abrupt, his concerns from early in the letter haven't really changed, just his emotionalism. The issue of his character raised in chapter 1 and of the legitimacy of his apostleship raised in chapter 3 remain the object of his defense in chapters 10-13.

The correspondence of these issues is enough to suggest that even though outside influence of "false apostles" (11:13) is not named earlier, they influence the minority of the Corinthian church and provide the ammunition against Paul observed in the earlier chapters. Who else would have brandished "letters of recommendation" (3:1)? Their earliest influences could even be in the background of Paul's problems associated with the Painful Visit.

As evident from 2 Cor 7:8-13, the offending individual merely became the pretext for the whole church failing to rally behind Paul until after the Severe Letter. Although Paul can be ecstatic that most of the church has recommitted themselves to him and to the gospel by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, nevertheless, pockets of opposition likely remain under the growing influence of the outside agitators. With chapters 10-13 Paul intends to level a decisive blow against this opposition not only to bring the remainder of the church back to the true gospel but also to shore up any lingering doubts from those who have pledged their loyalty.

Paul's transition to chapter 10 indeed is rocky but, as Danker points out, no more so than Phil 3 or Rom 9. In this commentary, therefore, we will treat 2 Corinthians as a unity and will treat chapters 10-13 as primarily aimed at responding to a vocal minority of the church who remain mesmerized by the outsiders' criticisms of Paul.

PAUL'S OPPONENTS

Second Corinthians resounds with the echo of outside voices filling the Corinthians' heads with notions geared to sever their relationship with Paul. Since Paul originally brought the gospel to Corinth and made it possible for people there to be reconciled with God through Christ and begin a vibrant church meeting in homes throughout the city, others have come to Corinth presenting themselves as superior in authority to the apostle Paul himself. Presuming the opponents in 2 Cor 10-13 and 1-9 are the same, they supposedly have letters of authentication from Jerusalem (3:1-3), Paul blasts them as "false apostles" (11:13) and sarcastically as "super apostles" in 12:11. Nevertheless, they have influenced and confused the Corinthians enough to force Paul to write 2 Corinthians and fill it with self-commendation regarding his integrity and his "superior" apostolic credentials over theirs. He does this because he feels he must in order to win the Corinthians back, but he finds doing so personally disturbing and repugnant.

Whereas Paul finds it difficult to boast about himself, self-commendation seems to be the chief characteristic of these outsiders. Clues from 2 Corinthians indicate that they were proud of their Jewish heritage (11:22), their "Christian" service (11:23), their oratorical skill (11:6), their self-confidence (1:15-17), and their charismatic experiences (12:12). They preached a different gospel than Paul's (11:4). They also accepted money from the Corinthians, unlike Paul who refused it (12:16). They may have viewed Paul's effort to collect money from the Corinthians for the Jerusalem Christians as cutting off their own purse strings and threatening their prosperity in Corinth.

Their heated, personalized efforts to undercut Paul sound like Paul's opposition in Galatians, commonly called Judaizers (Gal 4:17). However, no mention of the law or circumcision in 2 Corinthians clouds this identification and requires that, if these are the same people, they have changed their tune considerably since Galatians. The fact that they tout letters of recommendation - where else but from Jerusalem - makes it difficult to lay aside the picture of a band of renegade, conservative Jewish Christians who first followed Paul to Galatia and now to Corinth with the expressed purpose of replacing Paul's gospel and his authority to represent true Christianity (Gal 1:6-7).

It is going too far to say that their credentials were currently legitimate or that they were actual apostles since Acts 15:24 reports that a faction of Jewish Christians had gone out falsely representing the church to new, Gentile congregations. It is possible, though, that they do have apostolic credentials - perhaps even knew Jesus before his crucifixion - but now are misusing these credentials to subvert Paul's successful mission to Gentiles in Galatia and now also in Corinth and other churches as well.

The picture of these Corinthian opponents as ultraconservative Jewish Christians clashes with a considerable amount of the evidence which points to their Greek or even gnostic origins. Their connection to revelations and wonders, rhetorical skills, "worldly" wisdom, and just their overall egotistical posture must be reckoned with. Undermining at least the gnostic element is the positive use of "knowledge" in 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, a typical result when these ingredients are combined emerges with a conclusion that they were "Hellenistic Jews who were propagating . . . a 'spiritual gnosticism.'"

However, it seems inconceivable that ultraconservative Jewish Christians coming out of Jerusalem could be pushing a gospel so infiltrated with Greek ideas as to be outside the bounds of Paul's own radicalized message which had stripped unnecessary Jewish elements. Could these Jewish agitators be so clever as to be able to manipulate the Corinthians against Paul by successfully incorporating elements from Greek culture into their opposition to Paul which they themselves don't believe? It doesn't seem likely, but then no identification satisfactorily combines the paradoxical elements of these opponents as currently gleaned from the information we have from 2 Corinthians and the first century. As one commentator astutely points out, any final resolution is also hampered considerably by the fact that 2 Corinthians provides no information about the doctrine or theology of these opponents. Most current discussion recognizes the limitations involved in this discussion and offers no more than conjectures as has been done here.

It's best, then, to keep in mind the characteristics of Paul's opponents available from reading 2 Corinthians without any adamant historical identification until better information becomes available. They were Jewish. They were Greek. They considered themselves Christians. They hated Paul. They hurt Paul, and he feared what more they could do. It was up to him to marshal all the strength and the skills he had to prevent them from doing any further damage. They had backed him into a corner, and he responds with ferocity and emotion in 2 Corinthians, compelled out of his deep love for the Corinthians and his commitment to true, saving Christianity and humble, self-sacrificing leadership.

RELEVANCE

Christians treat 2 Corinthians like the ugly twin sister of 1 Corinthians. First Corinthian's poignant theology about challenging issues attracts everyone's constant attention. Meanwhile, 2 Corinthians sits in the corner waiting for someone to ask it to dance. Yet, once we make some effort to get to know 2 Corinthians, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Today, as in the days of the early church, various outside forces threaten to sever people's loyalty to Christ and cut away at the fabric of the church. It might be a cult like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. It might be cultural forces like the challenges of postmodernism or the mind-set of the so-called Generation X which questions absolutes like God and salvation in Christ alone. It might just be an obstinate person who envies the authority of the minister, elders, or deacons and questions their integrity and decision-making at every turn and who draws around him or her an anti-faction.

If you are someone who cares deeply about your local church and would do almost anything to maintain its success and its integrity as a body of Christian believers, then 2 Corinthians will speak to your heart and nourish your soul. You will relate to Paul's agony over this church , feel his compassion, and be engulfed by his intense emotion in this letter. You will take in the principles of genuine church leadership and apply them to your life responsibly to enable you to enrich the quality of your local church.

The comments which follow are intended to help you both to understand 2 Corinthians in its own historical context and to apply its key principles to your own personal context in the church today.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

1 Clem 1 Clement

1QH The Thanksgiving Hymns (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QM The War Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QS Rule of the Community (Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Clem 2 Clement

AJP American Journal of Philology

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römishen Welt, ed. Temporini and Haase

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT Bible Translator

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CD The Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scroll)

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Hawthorne, Martin, and Reid

Ebr. De Ebrietate (Philo)

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

Heres Qui Rerum Divinarum Heres sit (Philo)

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JRH Journal of Religious History

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

LB Living Bible

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

Neot Neotestamentica

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Brown

NIV New International Version

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSupp Novum Testamentum Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RB Revue Biblique

ResQ Restoration Quarterly

RSV Revised Standard Version

SCJ Stone-Campbell Journal

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

Spec.Leg. Philo, De Specialibus Legibus

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Kittel and Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

T.Jos Testament of Joseph

T.Levi Testament of Levi

T.Naph Testament of Naphtali

TS Theological Studies

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WW Word and World

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenshaft

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. OPENING - 1:1-2

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-11

A. GOD COMFORTS - 1:3-7

B. GOD DELIVERS - 1:8-11

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY - 1:12-2:13

A. CLARITY SOUGHT - 1:12-14

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED - 1:15-17

C. CANDOR DEMANDED - 1:18-22

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED - 1:23-2:4

E. THE OFFENDER FORGIVEN - 2:5-11

F. ACTUAL TRAVEL DESCRIBED - 2:12-13

IV. DEFENSE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IN PRINCIPLE - 2:14-7:4

A. SUFFICIENT FOR MINISTRY - 2:14-3:6

1. The Aroma of Christ Spread - 2:14-17

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent - 3:1-3

3. A Personal Reference Provided - 3:4-6

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT - 3:7-18

1. Glory Unsurpassed 3:7-11

2. Glory Unobstructed 3:12-18

C. TENACIOUS DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS - 4:1-5:10

1. Christ Preached Plainly - 4:1-6

2. Hardships Overcome because of Jesus' Death - 4:7-12

3. Increasing Multitudes Brought to Life - 4:13-15

4. Driven by Unseen, Eternal Reward - 4:16-18

5. Confident in Eternal Home - 5:1-10

a) Permanent Home Guaranteed - 5:1-5

b) Pleasing the Lord Prioritizes Life - 5:6-10

D. PREACHING RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST - 5:11-6:2

1. Motivated by Christ's Love - 5:11-15

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered - 5:16-6:2

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY - 6:3-10

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION - 6:11-7:4

1. Paul's Heart Opened - 6:11-13

2. Holiness Demanded - 6:14-7:1

3. Paul's Trust Expressed - 7:2-4

V. ENCOURAGING NEWS: RELATIONSHIP FULLY RESTORED - 7:5-16

A. TITUS REPORTS LOVE FOR PAUL - 7:5-7

B. TRUE REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES INNOCENCE - 7:8-13a

C. TITUS EXPRESSED DEEP AFFECTION - 7:13b-16

VI. PREPARATION FOR THE COLLECTION - 8:1-9:15

A. INCENTIVES TOWARD GENEROSITY - 8:1-15

1. Excel Like the Macedonians - 8:1-7

2. Give Like Christ - 8:8-9

3. Complete Your Offering - 8:10-12

4. Achieve Equity - 8:13-15

B. TITUS PLUS TWO OTHERS SENT TO CORINTH TO HELP - 8:16-9:5

1. Criticism to Be Thwarted - 8:16-21

2. Measure Up to Expectations - 8:22-24

3. Follow Through on What Was Begun - 9:1-5

C. MORE INCENTIVE TO BE GENEROUS - 9:6-15

1. God Will Be Generous - 9:6-11

2. God Will Be Praised - 9:12-15

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY - 10:1-13:10

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK - 10:1-18

1. Powerful Weapons Employed - 10:1-6

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned - 10:7-10

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted - 10:12-18

B. COMPARISON TO FALSE APOSTLES MADE - 11:1-15

1. True Message of Jesus Preached - 11:1-6

2. No Money Accepted - 11:7-12

3. The False Apostles Serve Satan - 11:13-15

C. BOASTING AS A "FOOL" - 11:16-33

1. Rationale Provided - 11:16-21a

2. Ancestry and Hardships Listed - 11:21b-29

3. Weakness Boasted - 11:30-33

D. MORE BOASTING - 12:1-10

1. A Vision Divulged - 12:1-6

2. An Irremovable Thorn Remains - 12:7-10

E. "BOASTING" RETROSPECTIVE - 12:11-13

F. PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD VISIT - 12:14-13:10

1. No Exploitation Tactics Employed - 12:14-18

2. More Trouble Feared - 12:19-21

3. Harsh Treatment for Sinners Warned - 13:1-4

4. Faith-testing Evidences Paul's Strength - 13:5-10

VIII. CLOSING REMARKS - 13:11-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE

Having despatched his first Epistle to the Corinthians by their returning messengers (1Co 16:17-18), and having, as it appears, sent Titus with them as his own messenger (comp. 1Co 16:1-2 and 2Co 8:6), Paul became exceedingly anxious as to the effect which his letter would have, and, to get earlier news from it, he advanced from Ephesus to the seacoast at Troas, where he expected to meet Titus. But when Titus did not come, though Paul found ""a door opened to him"" in Troas, his spirits were so intolerably oppressed by forebodings of evil as to the situation at Corinth, that he crossed over the sea into Macedonia to learn what had occurred there. Here, possibly at Philippi, he meets with Titus, and this second Epistle is called forth by the report which Titus brought (2Co 2:12; 2Co 2:13; 2Co 7:5-7). The first Epistle was written from Ephesus in the spring of A. D. 57, and this one from Macedonia, probably in September or October of the same year. It shows that Titus reported that the majority of the church was with Paul, accepted him as an apostle, read his message with fear and trembling, received his rebukes with grief, and sought to obey his instructions with holy zeal, promptly excommunicating the incestuous man (2Co 7:7-14). But there was still a dangerous and defiant minority for Paul to subdue, an evil influence for him to break down, and this second Epistle is written because of this party. This minority, which existed when the first Epistle was written, had apparently been re-enforced by Judaizers, who came from Jerusalem bearing what purported to be letters of commendation from some high authority. This minority denounced Paul with unscrupulous boldness. They accused him of cowardice, in that he had not come to Corinth, insinuating that he preferred to keep at a distance and thunder in his letters, because he knew that he was weak and contemptible if present. With wanton brazenness they struck at his apostolic authority, asserting that he had no authentic commission, and not even commendatory letters from Jerusalem. They accused him of lying in regard to his journeys and visits, and being so vacillating in his statements and purposes as to be wholly untrustworthy. These, and other charges and innuendoes, were so bold in their character, so gross in their nature and so dangerous in their significance that, for the good of the cause, Paul felt impelled to write this defense. Being strongly emotional from end to end, it is in style the most difficult of all Paul's Epistles, and it is also the least systematic; but the following analysis is fairly satisfactory. Part I. The maintenance of his genuine apostleship (chs. 1-7). This part is addressed more particularly to that section of the church which was loyal, or even friendly, in its attitude toward him. It is divisible into two subdivisions: (1) Defense against the charge of being unreliable because he had changed his plans as to the time and direction of his journey to visit them, and had apparently contradicted himself (chs. 1, 2). (2) A discussion of his apostolic office (chs. 3-7). Part II. Exhortations as to the offerings for the Judζan poor (chs. 8, 9). Part III. A measurement of his life, powers, ability, etc., with those who opposed and defamed him (chs. 10-13). This part is addressed more particularly to those who held him in doubt, and those who openly defied him, and may be subdivided as follows: (1) Preliminary suggestions as to the measurement (ch. 10- 2Co 11:21). (2) The measurement in detail (ch. 2Co 11:22 -13). The Epistle differs very greatly in its tone, passing from the warmest affection to the most startling menace, because the apostle is sometimes addressing the penitent majority, and sometimes the refractory minority.