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7:1. Here again, as between 1. and 2., and between 3. and 4., and between 4. and 5., and between 5. and 6., the division between the chapters is not well made. As the ονshows, 7:1 belongs closely to what precedes. It closes the digression which warns the Corinthians against fellowship with heathen modes of life; and then we have a resumption of the tender appeal in which his beloved converts are implored to make some response to the frankness with which he has opened his heart to them.
1. Τύα ονἔοτςτςἐαγλα. Τύα comes first with emphasis; ‘These, then, being the promises which we have.’ They are so incalculably precious, and so sure to be fulfilled if they are properly met.
ἀαηο. With us this affectionate address has become almost a canting expression in sermons, and it means very little. But the Apostle is not prodigal in his use of it, and with him it means a great deal; twice in 1 Cor. (10:14, 15:58), once again in 2 Cor. (12:19); twice in Phil. (2:12, 4:1); once in Rom. (12:19).
κθρσμνἑυος He again softens the severity of his words, as in ώ τκοςλγ (v. 13); this time by including himself among those who need cleansing. Baptism cannot be repeated, and earnest Christians would not need a repetition of it; but all in their walk through life become soiled and need frequent cleansing (Joh_13:10). He who looks for a fulfilment of the gracious promises must strive to be κθρςὅο. If we are to have God to dwell in us, we must purify the dwelling. If we are to have Him as a Father, we must strive to acquire some likeness to Him. The verb is not peculiar to Bibl. Grk. It occurs in Josephus (Ant. xi. v. 4) and is found in inscriptions (followed by ἀό as here and Heb_9:14) in much the same sense as in this verse, of the necessity for purification before entering a holy place. Deissmann, Bib. St. p. 216. Cf. ἀὸπσςἁατα κθρσνκρίν(Ecclus. 38:10). Index IV.
ἀὸπνὸ μλσο. ‘From every kind of defilement.’ The noun implies an evil stain, foul pollution; in LXX in connexion with idolatry (1 Esdr. 8:80 [84]; 2 Macc. 5:27; cf. Jer_23:15). In the Testaments (Symeon 2:13) we have ἀοχ ἀὸπνὸ μλσο. On the date of the Testaments see Lightfoot, Galatians, p. 320. Here there may be a reference to τντνεδλνκιωίν but not to that exclusively. The noun occurs nowhere else, but μλν is freq. in O.T. and N.T. Trench, Syn. §xxxi.; Wetst. ad loc.
σρὸ κὶπεμτς Man may be defiled in either flesh or spirit, and in either case there must be cleansing. The two together sum up human nature, and the intercommunion of the parts is so close, that when either is soiled the whole is soiled. St Paul is using popular language covering the material and immaterial elements in man, and it is manifest that he is not under the influence of the Gnostic doctrine that everything material is ipso facto evil. He says that the flesh must be cleansed from every kind of pollution. Gnostics maintained that it was as impossible to cleanse flesh as to cleanse filth. In either case the only remedy was to get rid of the unclean matter. See P. Gardner, Religious Experience of St Paul, p. 165. He quotes Reitzenstein; “All the different shades of meaning which πεμ has in Paul’s writings may be found in the magic papyri …Paul has not developed for himself a peculiar psychology, and a mystic way of speaking in accordance with it, but speaks in the Greek of his time” (Die Hellenistischen Mysterienreligionen, pp. 42, 137). Epictetus (Dis. ii.13) has a similar thought; “When you are conversing with others, know you not that you are exercising God? Unhappy man, you carry God about with you, and know it not. You carry Him within you, and perceive not that you are polluting (μλνν Him with unclean thoughts and filthy acts. If an image of God were present, you would not dare to do any of the things which you do. But when God Himself is present within and sees all, you are not ashamed of thinking such things and doing such things, ignorant as you are of your own nature and subject to the anger of God.” Nestle’s proposal to take only σρό with μλσο and transfer κὶπεμτςto ἀισννneed not be more than mentioned.* The latter constr. is intolerable. With μλ σρὸ κ πεμτςcomp. ἁί τ σμτ κ τ πεμτ (1Co_7:34). It is uncritical dogmatism to assert that St Paul would never have used such an expression as ‘defilement of flesh and spirit.’ See on v. 5.
ἐιεονε ἁισνν The mere cleansing oneself from defilement is not enough. It is right that the unclean spirit should be cast out; but the place which he has occupied must be filled with such things as will make it impossible for him to return; there must be a process of self-consecration always going on. This is the meaning of ‘bringing to completeness (8:6, 11; Php_1:6) a state of holiness’ (1Th_3:13; Rom_1:4). Cf. Zec_4:9. In LXX, ἀισν is used generally of God. In the Testaments (Lev_18:11) we are told that the saints who enter Paradise will eat from the tree of life, κὶπεμ ἁισνςἔτιἐʼατῖ. Here it is the divine quality of ἁισν that fits Christians to become God’s sanctuary and to have Him as their Father.
ἐ φβ Θο. Not in the fear or love of men. The ἐ may mark either the sphere in which the perfecting of holiness takes place or the means by which it is accomplished; cf. ἐ τ πρυί, ἐ τ πρκήε (v. 7). ‘The fear of God’ or ‘the fear of the Lord’ is repeatedly given in O.T. as the principle of a good life; so esp. in Psalms (2:11, 5:7. etc.) and Proverbs (1:7, 1:29. 13, etc.). It is the whole duty of man (Ecc_12:13). “He who tries to do any good thing without the fear of the Lord,” says Herveius, “is a proud man.” Cf. v. 11; Rom_3:18; Act_9:31, Act_9:10:2, Act_9:35. In Eph_5:21 what is said in O.T. of Jehovah is in a remarkable way transferred to Christ, ἐ φβ Χιτῦ
2-4. The return to the affectionate appeal in 6:11-13 is as sudden as the digression at 6:14. He has concluded the warning against what would hinder complete reconciliation and gladly resumes tender language. χρστ ἡᾶ goes back at once to παύθτ κὶὑες It shows still more clearly what he means by their opening wide their hearts; they are to open them to him.
2. χρστ ἡᾶ. Capite nos (Vulg.), Accipite nos (Beza). The latter is better, but dots not give the exact sense. ‘Make room for us’ in your hearts is the meaning. ‘Not all men have room for the saying,’ that it is not good to marry (Mat_19:11). Cf. Mar_2:2, and οκἐώε ατύ γ κτιενἅα(Gen_13:6).* The asyndeton throughout these verses is expressive of the eagerness with which he dictates the telling sentences. He rapidly negatives reasons which might make them hesitate to open their hearts to take him in.
οδν ἠιήαε. The οδν comes first in each case with emphasis, and the aorists imply that there has not been a single case in which he has wronged, ruined, defrauded, any of them. Evidently he had been accused or suspected of something of the kind; but here again we are in ignorance as to the facts to which he alludes. Cf. 4:2 and οκἐ πάη οδ ἐ ἀαασα οδ ἐ δλ (1Th_2:3). We have a similar protest in the Apostle’s speech at Miletus (Act_20:26, Act_20:27); cf. 1Sa_12:3; Num_16:15. Those who think it improbable that he is alluding to charges actually made by the Corinthians take the words as playfully ironical, or as a hit at the Judaizing teachers, who had injured the Corinthians with their corrupt doctrine and perhaps lived in Corinth at their expense. See on 4:2.
οδν ἐθἰαε. ‘We ruined no one,’ a vague expression, which we cannot define with certainty. It may refer to money, or morals, or doctrine. Calvin is too definite; corruptela quae fit per falsam doctrinam, which may or may not be right. He might be said to have ruined people who had had to abandon lucrative but unchristian pursuits. The Judaizers declared that his doctrine of Christian freedom was thoroughly immoral and some of his disciples, who misinterpreted his teaching, gave the freedom an unchristian and immoral meaning.
οδν ἐλοετσμν ‘We took advantage of no one.’ ‘Defrauded’ (AV) is too definite, as implying financial dishonesty; and we are not sure that there is any such allusion in any of the three verbs. If 10-13 is part of a letter written before this letter, ἐλοετσμνmay refer to 12:17, 18. Excepting the difficult passage 1Th_4:6, the verb is peculiar to 2 Cor. in N.T., and in LXX it is rare; πενζαis more freq. in both LXX and N.T. See Trench, Syn. §xxiv. With the rhetorical repetition of οδν comp. that of κγ in 11:22, and of μ πνε (seven times in all) in 1Co_12:29, 1Co_12:30.
3. πὸ κτκιι ο λγ. ‘It is not for condemnation that I am saying this.’ He does not wish to find fault with any one; they must not think that; he is merely defending himself. This seems to show that in v. 2 he is answering accusations which had actually been made, either by some Corinthians or the false teachers. In spite of what people say of him, there is no reason why they should not open their hearts to take him in. Cf. πὸ ἐτοὴ ὑῖ λγ (1Co_6:5).
ποίηαγρ He has not said these words before or anything that is exactly equivalent to them; indeed in 4:12 he has said what is very different. But he has spoken of the bonds of affection which bind him to them, and he now speaks of these ties in a very emphatic way. Cf. 13:2; Gal_1:9; Gal_3 Macc. 6:35.
ἐ τῖ κρίι ἡῶ ἐτ εςτ σνπθνῖ κὶσνῆ. ‘Ye are in our hearts to share death and to share life’; i.e. ‘You are in our hearts, whether we die or live.’ The general meaning is clear enough, but, as in Rom_8:39, there is a rush of emotion which does not allow the Apostle to choose his words carefully. He probably means that neither death nor any experience in life can extinguish his affection for them; but he may mean that he is ready to share either death or life with them. He will (if need be) die with them, and he cannot live without them. This is the mark of a good shepherd (Joh_10:12). Perfecta charitas profectum vel detrimentum aliorum credit esse suum (Herveius). It is evident that here St Paul is including his colleagues in the ἡῶ. In v. 2, as in vv. 11, 12, Timothy and others may have dropped out of sight, but here, if ἡῶ meant himself only, he would have said ἐ τ κρι. See on 3:2, and Lightfoot on 1Th_2:4, where we have a similar case. Probably he includes others in all four verses. The interchanges between ‘I’ and ‘we’ in vv. 2Ti_4 are quite intelligible. We cannot infer from ‘dying’ preceding ‘living’ that dying with Christ in faith in order to live with Him is meant (5:15). The reason for putting ‘dying’ first is not clear; but it may point to his being ἐ θντι πλάι (11:23). In Athenaeus, vi. 249 (quoted by Wetstein), the more usual order is observed; τύοςδ ο βσλῖ ἔοσ σζνα κὶσνπθήκνα.
πὸ κτ ο λγ (אB C P) rather than ο πὸ κτ λγ (D E F G K L), which is an obvious correction. B omits. ἐτ. σνῆ (אB* C D E F G) rather than σζν(B3 K L P).
4. πλήμιπρηί πὸ ὑᾶ κτλ Note the alliteration, of which St Paul is fond, esp. with the letter π It is probable that πρηί here means ‘confidence’ (1Ti_3:13; Heb_10:19), rather than ‘boldness of speech’ (3:2). ‘Great is my confidence respecting you; great is my glorying on your behalf.’ * The confidence is the result of their obedience and affection as reported by Titus, and this feeling of confidence manifests itself in glorying. He is very proud of them and is not afraid to say so, for they will not come short of his praise. He has told them (v. 12) that they ought to glory on behalf of their teachers, and he tells them (here and 8:24) that he is ready to glory respecting his converts. Κύηο (see on 1:12), πρκηι (see on 1:3), and θίι (see on 1:4) are specially freq. in this Epistle, and the frequency should be marked in translation.
ππήωα τ πρκήε. ‘I am filled with the comfort’; ‘I was then and I am still’ (perf.). The usual constr. is with the gen. (Act_2:28, Act_2:13:52; Rom_15:13; etc.); but the dat. occurs in late Greek; ὁβσλνςχπ ππηωέο (3 Macc. 4:16). Cf. 2 Macc. 6:5, 7:21; Rom_1:29.
ὑεπρσεοα τ χρ. ‘I am overflowing with the joy.’ A double climax; ‘overflowing’ is more than ‘filled,’ and ‘joy’ is more than ‘comfort.’ The article should probably be translated; it points to the comfort and the joy caused by the report brought by Titus. The compound verb is very rare; only here and Rom_5:20; not in LXX. We have similar alliterations with πin 8:22, 9:5, 13:2.
ἐὶπσ τ θίε. ‘Amid all my affliction.’ The ἐίdoes not mean that the affliction was the basis of the comfort and joy, a paradox (12:10) which here would have no point; but that, in all his great trouble, he was able to have abundant comfort and joy. He at once goes on to explain the cause of this happiness.
En qualiter affectos esse omnes pastores conveniat (Calvin).
7:5-16. The Reconciliation Completed
This part of the chapter is all of one piece; but for convenience we may divide it into three, according to the subject matter. The Apostle speaks first of his longing for the arrival of Titus, and of his relief at the tidings which he brought (5-7), especially about the great offender and the Apostle’s painful letter (8-12); and finally he speaks of the joy of Titus at being able to bring such good tidings (13-16).
The close parallel with the description of Timothy’s mission to Thessalonica, and the Apostle’s anxiety, followed by joy at the happy result (1Th_3:1-9), should be noted.
5 For indeed, even after I had got as far as Macedonia, my poor suffering frame found no relief, but at every turn I found something to distress me; round about me were bitter conflicts for and against me, within, me were haunting fears as to how it would all end. 6 I was almost in despair; but God, who is ever ready to comfort the depressed, comforted me then by the arrival and company of Titus. 7 Yes, and not only by his arrival and company, but also by the comfort, with which you comforted him in his intercourse with you; for he gave a most welcome report of how you longed for reconciliation with me, how you lamented the trouble that you had caused, how eagerly you espoused my cause; so that this still further increased my joy.
8 Because, although I know that I gave you pain by the letter which I sent you, I cannot bring myself to regret it. When I saw that that letter gave you pain, although only for a season, I was inclined to regret it; 9 but now I am very glad,—not glad because you were pained, but because your pain issued in repentance. For you were pained in God’s way and not in the world’s way, and it was His will that you should not be the worse for anything that we did. 10 For the pain which is directed in God’s way leads to a repentance whose fruit is salvation, a repentance which can never be regarded with regret; whereas the pain which the heathen world inflicts on those who belong to it works out into moral ruin. 11 For see! it was this very thing, your being pained in God’s way, and not anything else, which did so much for you. See what earnestness it worked out in you, how keen you were to clear yourselves from just reproach, how indignant with the chief offender, how alarmed as to what the consequences might be, how eager for my forgiveness and return, how zealous in condemning evil, how stern in punishing it. In every one of these points you put yourselves right and purged yourselves from complicity in this distressing matter. 12 So then, although I did not let things slide but wrote severely to you, it was not in order to get the wrong-doer punished, nor yet to have the wronged man avenged. No, I wrote in order to bring out clearly before you all what a genuine interest you do take in us; I wrote as in God’s sight, with a full sense of responsibility. 13 It is this right conduct of yours and my own consciousness of having meant well that is such a comfort to me.
But over and above our own comfort we were the more exceedingly glad at the gladness of Titus; for refreshment and repose have come to his spirit, thanks to all of you. 14 For I told him how I gloried in you, how proud I was of you, and I have had no reason to be ashamed of what I said. You have not come short of my commendation of you. Just as all that we said to you was said in truth, so all that we said before Titus in praise of you has turned out to be quite true. 15 And he feels as we do. His inmost heart goes out the more abundantly towards you, as often as he recalls the ready obedience of all of you, and how timidly and nervously anxious you were in the reception which you gave him. 16 I am indeed glad that in every particular I can be of good courage in respect of you.
5. κὶγρἐθνω ἡῶ εςΜκδνα. ‘For indeed when we were come into Macedonia.’ He is going back to 2:13, where he tells us that even the excellent opening for preaching the Gospel which he found at Troas could not keep him there, because of his intense anxiety about Corinth, and so he crossed to Macedonia in order to meet Titus the sooner and learn how the Corinthians had taken his rebukes. So that we may regard the whole of 2:14-7:4 as a digression. The fact that it exists makes the hypothesis that 6:14-7:1 is a digression all the more probable. It is St Paul’s way to dart off to some important side-topic and then return to what he had previously been saying. He would probably land at Philippi. But coelum non animum mutat; he is just as feverishly anxious in Macedonia as he had been in Troas.
οδμα ἔχκνἄει ἡσρ ἡῶ. In 2:13 he says οκἔχκ ἄει τ πεμτ μυ If there were any reason for wishing to get rid of either that passage or this, we should be told by some critics that it is impossible that St Paul, who elsewhere opposes σρ and πεμ, can have written both. See above on μλσο σρὸ κὶπεμτς(v. 1). Language was made for man, not man for language. The use of words in a technical sense does not bar the writer from using them elsewhere in a popular sense. Here ἡσρ is the sphere, not of sin, but of suffering. Intense anxiety affects both flesh and spirit. In both passages we have the perf.; cf. 1:9; Rom_5:2. In all four places we might have expected the aor., and hence the reading ἔχνhere. See on 1:9 and 2:13. For ἄει see on 2:13; also Index IV.
ἐ πνὶθιόεο. ‘In every way pressed,’ as in 4:8. He was experiencing every kind of tribulation. The participle without any verb is irregular, but intelligible and not rare; cf. 9:11, 11:6, and other instances quoted in Moulton, p. 182. Here πρκήηε might be understood, but it is not required. Ἐ πνίis very freq. in 2 Cor., and often first with emphasis; 6:4, 9:8, 11:6, 9. What follows explains ἐ πνί the pressure was both external and internal.
ἔωε μχι What these conflicts in Macedonia were we cannot tell; Chrysostom thinks they were with unbelievers. The asyndeton is impressive, as in vv. 2-4.
ἔωε φβι The conflicts would produce fears as to the issue, but his chief fears, as the context shows, were about the state of things at Corinth. Mental perturbations, Augustine points out, are not wrong. “The citizens of the Holy City of God, who live according to God in the pilgrimage of this life, fear and desire, grieve and rejoice. …That fear of which the Apostle John says, ‘Perfect love casteth out fear,’ is not of the same kind as that which the Apostle Paul felt lest the Corinthians should be subdued by the subtlety of the serpent; for love is susceptible of this fear, yea, love alone is capable of it (De Civ. Dei, xiv. 9).
ἔχκν(אC D E L P) rather than ἕχν(B F G K), a correction, because the perf. seemed to be out of place. C F G, Latt. Syrr. have ἔχafter ἄει.
6. ἀλ ὁπρκλντὺ τπιος ‘But He who comforteth the downcast.’ The context shows that ‘the lowly’ (RV) is here not the meaning of τ τπιος It means ‘those that are cast down’ (AV), ‘the dejected, the depressed’; these rather than the lowly require to be comforted. In Ecclus. 25:23 a wicked woman is said to produce κρί τπιὴκὶπόωο συρπν which RV. renders ‘abasement of heart and sadness of countenance.’ The wording here (cf. 1:3) comes from Isa_49:13, τὺ τπιοςτῦλο ατῦπρκλσν Cf. Isa_40:1, Isa_40:11, 51:3, Isa_40:12, 61:2, 66:13.
ἐ τ πρυί Τ ‘By the arrival and company of T.’ The word implies not only the coming but the staying; a πρυί lasts some time. Deissmann (Light from the Anc. East, pp. 372, 382) has shown that it was a technical term to denote the visit of a potentate or his representative, and hence its ready transfer to the Second Advent. No such meaning attaches to it here. St Paul is not suggesting that the return of Titus to him was of an official character, but perhaps he desires to intimate that the coming meant a great deal to himself. The ἐ is instrumental rather than local, it gives the means rather than the sphere of the comforting; cf. ἐ φβ Θο (v. 1).
7. ἐʼὑῖ. The exact meaning of this is uncertain; perhaps ‘over you’ is safest, indicating that the Corinthians were the basis of the comfort. Comp. the parallel passage, 1Th_3:7.
ἀαγλω ἡῖ. ‘While he told us.’ The actual making of his report was a comfort to Titus. In strict grammar we ought to have ἀαγλοτς but the participle is attracted to the verb, almost inevitably.
ἐιόηι. We have to conjecture the object of this ‘longing’; to be on good terms once more with the Apostle may be right, or perhaps to see him again. The noun is very rare in Bibl. Grk. (v. 11; Eze_23:11), but ἐιοενoccurs in all groups of the Pauline Epp. and is not rare in Lxx.
ὀυμν ‘Lamentation’ (Mat_2:18) for having caused so much distress.
ζλν ‘Zeal’ (v. 11, 9:2) for the Apostle against those who had attacked him, or eagerness to carry out his wishes. Trench, Syn. §xxvi. For the exclusively Pauline ὑῶ between the art. and the noun (thrice in this verse) see on 1:6 and 12:19.
ὥτ μ μλο χρνι The μλο may be understood in several ways. (1) ‘So that I rejoiced still more’; the meeting with Titus delighted him; the report that Titus gave of the Corinthians increased his delight. (2) ‘So that I rejoiced rather than was merely comforted.’ (3) ‘So that I rejoiced instead of being distressed.’ The first is best. The threefold ὑῶ throws light on the meaning. It was the Corinthians’ longing, the Corinthians’ lamentation, the Corinthians’ eagerness which inspired Titus with such joy. Previously the longing, lamentation, and eagerness had been St Paul’s, and it was a delight to his emissary to find similar feelings in the Corinthians. With characteristic tact the Apostle attributes his own happiness to the comfort which the Corinthians had given to Titus and which Titus had communicated to him. He does not tell the Corinthians that he had doubted as to how they would take his letter, and how great had been his anxiety as to its possible effect. The position of μλο and the contents of v. 13 favour (1) rather than (2) or (3).
8. ὅιε κὶἐύηαὑᾶ ἐ τ ἐιτλ, ο μτμλμι ‘Because, though I made you sorrowful (see on 2:2) in my letter, I do not regret it.’ That he pained them by what he wrote is treated as a fact; ε κίrather than κὶε: see on 4:3. The difference between μτμλμι(Mat_21:30, Mat_21:21:32, Mat_21:27:3; Heb_7:21 from Psa_109[110]:4) and μτνέ (12:21; Act_2:38, Act_2:3:19; etc.) is fairly represented by the difference between ‘regret’ and ‘repent,’ but no hard and fast line can be drawn, such as that the former refers to transitory feelings respecting details, while the latter implies moral choice affecting the whole life. Either verb is used either way. But, as the derivations show, μτνέ has the richer and more serious meaning. Trench, Syn. §lxix.
ε κὶμτμλμν See crit. note below. Whether we read βέωor βέω, we may take ννχίωas the aposdosis of ε κὶε., and treat what lies between as a parenthesis. This is somewhat awkward when written, but might easily be given in dictation. ‘Though I was inclined to regret it—I see that that letter, though but for a time, made you sorrowful— now I rejoice.’ We may put it more smoothly thus; ‘I see that that letter gave you pain, though only for a while; at the time I was inclined to regret having written it, but now I am very glad.’ Ἐεν puts the letter away from him; it is remote from his present attitude. It is quite clear that he had written a letter about which he had had misgivings and regrets; he could have wished that he had not written it. It is difficult to agree with those who think that he could ever have had such feelings about 1 Corinthians. Could he for a moment have regretted having written such a letter? There must have been another letter of a much more painful character. See on 1:17, 2:3, 9. If 2 Cor. 10—13. is part of that letter, it is easy to point to passages which he might sometimes wish that he had never written.*
The arrangement given above is that of Tisch., WH., and the American Revisers, but RV. gives it no recognition, perhaps because of its apparent awkwardness. AV capriciously renders ἐιτλ first ‘letter’ and then ‘Epistle,’ and treats ἐύηε as a perf., as if the pain still continued, which the Apostle certainly did not mean to imply.
πὸ ὥα. The pain will not last; there is nothing that need rankle; the present letter will entirely extinguish it. Gal_2:5 and Phm_1:15 show that the expression may be used of either a short or a long time, either a few minutes or several months. The main point is that an end is certain. Cf. πὸ κιό (1Co_7:5; Luk_8:13), πὸ ὀίο (1Ti_4:8), and πὸ κιὸ ὤα (1Th_2:17). It is possible that ε κὶπὸ ὥα ἐύηε ὑᾶ should be taken together, ‘although it pained you for a season,’ and that the sentence is left unfinished. Perhaps some such words as ‘has had excellent effects’ ought to have followed. However we unravel the confused constr., the general sense is clear.
After ἐ τ ἐιτλ D* E* F G, d e f g add μυ B inserts δ between at and κί אD2 E F G K L P, f g Syrr. Copt. inserts γρafter βέω In all three cases we may omit. Lachmann and Hort would follow Vulg. (videns) and read βέω, βεω having been read as βεω Videns, like the insertion of γρ may be an attempt to smooth the constr.
Only to those who believe in verbal inspiration in the most rigid sense, could this verse cause any difficulty, other than that of reading and constr. There is no need even to ask the question, “How could an inspired Apostle ever regret what he had written?” Such questions belong to views about Holy Scripture which criticism has demonstrated to be untenable. The Apostle himself would scarcely have understood what such a question meant. If he did, he might ask, “Do you suppose that I never make a mistake?”
9. ἀλ ὅιἐυήηεεςμτνιν With much delicacy, he makes them rather than himself the cause of his present happiness. It was not his letter, the writing of which was no pleasure to him, but their way of receiving it, which produced so much joy. He claims no credit for it.
ἐυήηεγρκτ Θό. ‘For you were made sorrowful in God’s way’; i.e. as God would have you sorrowful; not “owing to the grace of God,’ ‘thanks to His help.’ Cf. Rom_8:27; Rom_4 Macc. 15:2. ‘God’s way’ is opposed to man’s way and the devil’s way.
ἵαἐ μδν ζμωῆεἐ ἡῶ. Such was God’s intention; ‘that in nothing ye might suffer loss (1Co_3:15; Luk_9:25) at our hands.’ If he had not urged them to change their course, that would have been great loss to them and great blame to him. God did not will either his negligence or their loss. It is unnatural to make ἵαdepend upon ἀλ ὅιἐ. εςμννιν
10. μτνινεςστρα ἀεαέηο. The adj. belongs to μτνιν There is no need to say that salvation brings no regret. To make this clear we must repeat; ‘repentance unto salvation, a repentance which bringeth no regret’ (RV), or ‘repentance which bringeth no regret, repentance unto salvation.‘Repentance not to be repented of’ (AV) is a pleasing verbal antithesis, like ‘righteousness with unrighteousness’ (6:14), but neither is justified by the Greek.†Vulg. has paenitentiam in salutem stabilem operatur, and stabilem can be taken readily with salutem without perpetrating a truism; but stabilis is not an accurate rendering of ἀεαέηο. In Rom_11:29 Vulg. has sine paenitentia for ἀε. Εςστπα is freq. in Paul, being found in all groups (Rom_1:16, Rom_1:10:1, Rom_1:10; Php_1:19; 2Th_2:13; 2Ti_3:15), but nowhere does he weaken στραby giving it an epithet.
ἡδ τῦκσο λπ θντνκτράεα. ‘But the sorrow of the world worketh out death.’ The Revisers adopt the reading κτράεα (see below), but make no difference between it and ἐγζτι and Vulg. has operatur in both places; ἡκτ Θὸ λπ ‘works’ or ‘promotes’ στρα ἡτ κσο λ‘works out’ or ‘produces’ θντνCf. Rom_7:13.* Perhaps the reference is chiefly to sorrow for sin, and Cain, Esau, and Judas may be illustrations of the wrong kind of sorrow. But we need not confine the verse to that. Sorrow for worldly losses and troubles does not lessen them; indeed sorrow for sickness may aggravate the disease and prevent recovery; but sorrow for sin may cure the sin. Affliction which is not taken as discipline, but resented as unreasonable, hardens and deadens the soul: submission to God’s will brings peace. Moreover, men regret the sorrow which they feel for worldly losses, but they do not regret the sorrow which cures sin. Cf. ἔτνασύηἐάόαἁατα, κὶἔτνασύηδξ κὶχρς(Ecclus. 4:21). In the Testaments (Gad 5:7) there seems to be a reminiscence of this passage; ἡγρκτ θὸ ἀηὴ μτνι …ὁηε τ δαολο πὸ στρα. See Heinrici-Meyer.
ἐγζτι(א B C D E P 37) after ἀεαέηο is to be preferred to κτράεα (א G K L), which is assimilation to the next clause.
11. ἰο γρ He wants them to see how they themselves afford an example of the right kind of λπ and its fruits. ‘For behold, this very thing, your being sorrowful in God’s way, what earnestness (see on 8:7) it worked out in you.’ He looks back to what was said in v. 7, and in his desire to give them full credit for the excellent change in them he adds a great deal to what was said before; in v. 7 we have three particulars, here we have seven. He is brimming over with affectionate delight.†The repeated ἀλ means ‘but moreover,’ ‘but over and above this,’ and the same effect is produced in English with either ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’ Blass, §77.13.
ἀλ ἀοοίν Not merely earnestness instead of their previous indifference; but ‘self-vindication.’ They were anxious to exculpate themselves and show that they had not abetted the offender or condoned his offence.
ἀαάτσν Indignation at the shame brought upon the Church. Ἀαατωoccurs several times in the Synoptists, but here only does the noun occur. Cf. Thuc. 11. xli. 3.
φβν Ne cum virga venirem (Beng.); but we need not restrict it to that. God’s judgments may be included. Indeed it is unlikely that St Paul would put fear of himself in the foreground. ‘Happy is the man that feareth alway’ (28:14).
ἐιόηι. Yearning for the Apostle’s favour and return. Yearning for their own improvement, quo desideratis in melius provehi (Herveius), is less probable.
ζλν Zeal for God and the Apostle and against the evil which dishonours both.
ἐδκσν Avenging, in punishing the offender, about which there had been difficulty (2:6). It is placed last, possibly for that reason, or possibly because St Paul does not now regard it of great importance. Enough had been done to vindicate the authority which had been outraged. Ἐδκσ is from ἔδκς(1Th_4:6; Rom_13:4) through ἐδκω(10:6; Rom_12:19). Hort (on 1Pe_2:14) says, “In both Lxx and N.T. ἐδκσςstands for both ‘avenging’ or ‘vindication,’ and, as here, for ‘vengeance,’ ‘requital.’ This sense is specially abundant in Ecclus.” Bengel and Meyer arrange the last six items in pairs, dealing respectively with the shame of the Church, feeling towards the Apostle, and treatment of the offender. But the grouping is perhaps fanciful: ἀαάτσςmay have reference to the offender, and ζλςto the Apostle. The grouping is probably not intended by St Paul.
ἐ πνὶσνσήαεἑυος ‘In everyone of these points ye approved yourselves.’ See on v. 5. He acquits them of all responsibility for the offence which was committed. At first they had been to blame. By not protesting against the outrage they had seemed to acquiesce in it, but all this had been put right by their reception of Titus and submission to Paul’s letter.
ἁνὺ ενιτ πάμτ. ‘To be pure in the matter,’ to be purged from all complicity in it, because they no longer felt any sympathy with it. St Paul does not say γνσα but ενι he does not wish to hint that they had not always been ἁνί Ἁνςmarks predominantly a feeling, and κθρςa state (Westcott on 1Jn_3:3). The indefinite τ πάμτ points to a disagreeable subject which he does not care to specify; the Corinthians know all about the unhappy business. Neither the use of this vague term (1Th_4:6) nor ἁνύ (11:2) is any argument for the incredible identification of this oftender (2:5) with the incestuous Corinthian (1Co_5:1).
After λπθνι א D E K L P, d e Vulg. add ὑᾶ. א B C F G 17, g omit. κτιγστ (אB3 C G K L P) rather than κτράαο(B* D E). Before ὑι, א C F G P, f g Vulg. Syrr. read ἐ. א B D E L K omit. אB C D* F G, f g omit the ὲ before τ πάμτ, which is probably an insertion to ease the construction.
12. ἄαε κὶἔρψ ὑῖ. ‘So then, although I did write to you.’ The subject seems to be closed, and yet the Apostle does not end here. The excellent results of the mission of Titus and St Paul’s intense joy have been fully described, but something more is added as a sort of explanatory appendix. He goes on to explain why he wrote the letter which has borne such good fruit. There was one point in which it had partially failed, for the Corinthians had not treated the offender in the way in which he had expected; they had been more lenient than he had perhaps suggested. But he has assured them that he is content with what was done and does not desire anything further (2:5 f.); and he now tells them that his main object in writing was not to get the offender punished, or the person who was offended righted, but to give them an opportunity of showing how loyal they really were to himself. We may regard it as almost certain that the person offended was himself. His whole treatment of τ πᾶμ is in harmony with this view. This is another allusion to the severe letter.
The ἄαhere is equivalent to ὤτ with a finite verb; ‘so then,’ ‘accordingly,’ ‘consequently.’ In class. Grk. it is almost invariably sub joined to another word, as in 1Co_7:14; Rom_7:21; Gal_3:7; etc., and is hardly ever placed first, as here; 1Co_15:18; Rom_10:17; Gal_5:11.
οχἕεε τῦἀιήατς St Paul is always exhibiting Hebrew modes of thought and language. In Jewish literature we often have two alternatives, one of which is negatived, without meaning that it is negatived absolutely, but only in comparison with the other alternative, which is much more important. ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice’ (Hos_6:6) does not prohibit sacrifice; it affirms that mercy is much the better of the two. Cf. Mar_9:37; Luk_10:20, Luk_14:12, Luk_23:28. Here St Paul does not mean that he had no thought of the offender or the offended person in writing; he means that they were not the main cause of his doing so. His object was to get the Corinthian Church out of the false position in which it was in reference to himself. That was the thing for which he chiefly cared, and in comparision with that all other ends were as nothing. Cf. 1Co_1:17. Is it possible to believe that the letter to which allusion is here made Isa_1 Corinthians?
It is still less possible to believe that τῦἀιήατςis the incestuous person of 1Co_5:1. St Paul would hardly have regarded such a sin as a personal injury to an individual; it was a monstrous injury to the whole of the Corinthian Church. But there is a stronger reason than this. If ὁἀιήα is the man who had his father’s wife, then ὁἀιήεςmust be the man’s father, who was alive when the son committed incest with his father’s wife. Disorderly as the Corinthian Church was, it is difficult to believe that one of its members would be guilty of taking his father’s wife while his father was living, and that the rest of the Church, so far from being scandalized, were as much puffed up with self-complacency as usual (see on 1Co_5:2). What is said about forgiving the offender (4:5 f.) is strangely worded, if he was an offender of such heinousness.
It is possible that ὁἀιηεςwas Timothy (Hastings, D B. iv. p. 768), but almost certainly it was St Paul himself (D B. iii. p. 711).* That hypothesis satisfies all requirements, especially with regard to the reserve with which he speaks of the matter. The Corinthians would understand. Who ὁἀιήα was was known to them, but is unknown to us. He was probably a turbulent Corinthian who in some outrageous and public manner had defied the Apostle’s authority. Now that the Corinthians had withdrawn all sympathy from him and had submissively sought reconciliation with St Paul, it did not matter whether the punishment inflicted by the congregation had been adequate or not.
ἀλ ἕεε τῦφνρθνιτνσοδνὑῶ τνὑὲ ἡῶ πὸ ὑᾶ. Not for either of these ends, ‘but in order that your earnestness on our behalf might be made manifest unto you.’ If the same translation is to be given to ἕεε in all three places, we may say, ‘not in order to punish the wrong-doer, not yet in order to avenge the wronged, but in order, etc.’ The main object was to get the Corinthians to realize their true state of mind respecting the Apostle. In the friction and excitement of the recent crisis they had fancied that they could part from him with a light heart; but his letter showed them what casting him off would mean, and they found that the ties which bound them to him could not be so easily broken. They cared for him too much for that. ‘Unto you’ is simpler and more telling than ‘among you’ or ‘with you’ (1Th_3:4) for πὸ ὑᾶ. It was unto themselves that this revelation had to be made; they did not know the state of their own hearts till the shock of the letter came. With ὑῶ …πὸ ὑᾶ comp. 1:11.
ἐώιντῦθο. Placed last with emphatic solemnity, as in 4:2 (see the last note there). The words are to be taken with ἔρψ: he wrote with a deep sense of responsibility. God would judge of his reason for writing and of the words which he said.
In this verse we twice have in MSS. the common confusion between ἡεςand ὑες The reading of Vulg., sollicitudinem nostram, quam pro vobis habemus, and of T.R., τ σοδνἡῶ τ ὑὲ ὑῶ is inconsistent with the context. He did not write to manifest his zeal for them, but to bring out their zeal for him. The σοδ in this verse is the same as in v. 10. B C D2 E K L P, e Syrr. Copt. have τ σ. ὑῶ τ ὑὲ ηῶ.
13. δὰτῦοπρκκήεα ‘For this cause (because our good purpose was accomplished in bringing your loyalty to light) we have been and are comforted.’ These words, with a full stop after them, should have, been given to v. 12. Chrysostom ends a Homily with them, and he begins another (16.) with the words which follow. A teacher is comforted by the progress of his pupils, a spiritual ruler by the loyalty of the ruled; and spiritual rule is the highest of all arts.
Ἐὶδ τ πρκήε ἡῶ. ‘But over and above our personal comfort.’ The δ is certainly rightly placed here (see below), and it bars the rendering of Luther, Beza, and AV, which takes ἐὶτ π with the preceding πρκκηεα reading ὑῶ for ἡῶ, ‘we were comforted in your comfort.’ This does not fit the context.
πρσοέω μλο ἐάηε ἐὶτ χρ Ττυ ‘My own comfort was great; in addition to it came the more abundant joy at the joy of Titus.’ The strengthening of the comparative with a pleonastic μλο is not rare; μλο πρσόεο ἐήυσν(Mar_7:36); πλῷγρμλο κεσο (Php_1:23). It is found in class. Grk. Blass, §44. 5; Wetstein on Php_1:23. In 12:9 μλο does not strengthen ἥιτ, but belongs to κυήοα.
ὅιἀαέατιτ πεμ ατῦἀὸπνω ὑῶ. ‘Because his spirit has been refreshed, thanks to all of you.’ Cf. ἀέασνγρτ ἐὸ πεμ (1Co_16:18; see note there). In Phm_1:7, Phm_1:20 we have τ σλγν for τ πεμ. “The compound ἀααεθιexpresses a temporary relief, as the simple πύσα a final cessation” (Lightfoot), a truce as distinct from a peace. It is refreshment and relief which Christ promises to the weary and heavy laden, not a permanent removal of their burdens, ἀαασ ὑᾶ (Mat_11:28). For ἀόwhere ὑόmight have stood, ‘at the hands of’ rather than ‘by,’ cf. πλὰπθῖ ἀὸτνπεβτρν(Mat_16:21; also Luk_7:35, Luk_7:17:25; Jam_1:13). Blass, §40. 3. This πνω ὑῶ is repeated in v. 15. The whole Corinthian Church had had a share in