Baptist Foundations - Forgiveness by the Majority
2 Corinthians 2:5-11
Baptist Foundations — Forgiveness by the Majority
Congregational Polity (Part 2)
If anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.[1]
The Word of God instructs each congregation to assume responsibility for the faith and conduct of its own members. Though we Christians have not always held one another accountable for faith and conduct, we are nevertheless responsible to hold one another accountable within the precincts of the local congregation. The church that will honour God is not a hierarchy that imposes discipline on errant members, but it is rather a theocracy in which the will of God, revealed through His Word, is applied by the majority of the congregation. Just as accountability to the members is demanded by the majority, so forgiveness is to be expressed by the majority.
So that we are perfectly clear, when you become a Christian, you no longer live for yourself. It may suit contemporary politics to say that it is nobody’s business what you do, but if you are a Christian, your actions reflect upon the entire Community of Faith, and especially do your actions reflect upon that particular Body of Christ where you have been placed by the Son of God. When you sin, the impact of your sin is felt by every member of that Body, and to some degree is felt by every child of the Living God.
Achan thought that his actions were private, but they cost the lives of thirty-six soldiers [Joshua 7:1-5]. Following his single act of disobedience, thirty-six homes were deprived of the love of a father, the love of a son, the love of a child. Before Achan was held fully accountable for the secret sin, it cost the lives of his wife and his children, all his livestock, and the destruction of all that he owned [Joshua 7:16-26]. His name became a byword, so that even when Reuben, Gad and Eastern Manasseh were challenged upon returning to their homes from the wars of conquest in the Promised Land, his name was invoked: did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity [Joshua 22:20].
Indeed, the congregation of the Lord has a vital stake in watching over the faith and conduct of its own members, holding them accountable for sin when that sin becomes known. Discipline by the congregation is exercised for the benefit of the sinner and for the welfare of the congregation. However, when the discipline of the people of God has accomplished its intended purpose—restoration of the sinner—it is time for the congregation to practise forgiveness. That is the purpose of the exploration of the Word in this message today. Join me in study of 2 Corinthians 2:5-11.
Discipline and Forgiveness — Forgiveness is an obscure concept for far too many of us. While preparing this message, I heard Michael Reagan, the son of former President Ronald Reagan express his outrage at the announcement that John Hinckley, the man who shot his father, was granted extended time away from the psychiatric hospital where he has been incarcerated for twenty-five years. Mr. Reagan made the point that his father forgave Hinckley, but he was unwilling to forgive because forgiveness had never been requested. His statement sounds startlingly like that made by many Christians. “I’ll forgive you if you ask it. Otherwise, I’ll hold onto my anger.”
What necessitated the instructions of the Apostle provided in our text? What had happened to elicit such an impassioned plea on his part? Immediately before this portion of the letter, Paul speaks of a previous letter written out of the anguish of his heart, a letter written with many tears [2 Corinthians 2:4]. In the fifth verse, he implies that his pain was less than the injury suffered by the Corinthians. Putting these thoughts together, I arrive at the conclusion that a member of the Corinthian church in some way attacked Paul, and some of the Corinthians sided with this man.
The sin that required attention was not simply a personal affront to the Apostle, but rather it appears that Paul’s authority as an apostle was challenged. The sin was not theological per se, but there was a theological misperception at the root. Of course, that is often the case. Rebellion is condemned throughout the Word, as is arrogance; and arrogant self-will often lies at the root of rebellion. It appears that this man perhaps slandered Paul, leading a rebellion designed to wrest “power” away from the Apostle. Professor David Garland believes the man in question attempted to wrest a following from those loyal to Paul by shaming him in some way.[2] Paul’s references seem to support this contention. In any case, a minority of the Corinthians appear to have gone along with this man. The majority, however, not wanting to appear cruel, were silent.
It is a tragic truth that church members often resort to politics to accomplish their goals. Perhaps this is because they are untaught in biblical truth. More likely, it is because the world’s model seeks to lead through imposition of the will on the majority as necessary. It is a further tragedy that there are often a minority of people among the Body of Christ who are convinced that they need to reign in the pastor. They engage in a whisper campaign until they imagine they have enough support to openly attempt a coup, or feel they are ready to humiliate the pastor who stands in the way of control. That is a likely explanation of the situation that Paul was compelled to address at a distance.
Whatever the sin may have been, Paul’s tearful letter accomplished its purpose. The congregation met in assembly and the majority rebuked the one who was disturbing the congregation. Most likely, the sinful individual was put out of the church—debarred from sitting at the Lord’s Table, as taught in Scripture [e.g. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13].
Paul considers that though he was personally attacked, it was the Corinthians that suffered the most. This is because sin contaminates. Whenever a congregation tolerates a little bit of sin, that sin, like yeast, grows and contaminates all. It is not mercy to ignore sin in a member of the congregation; it is cowardice and utter folly to pretend that the sinner will not harm the congregation. So, Paul was compelled to write his anguished letter, not because he was aggrieved, but because he recognised the danger to the church.
Evidently, Paul’s letter was well received, and the congregation acted appropriately. The sinner was put out of the congregation by action of the majority. That action, painful though it undoubtedly was, was necessary, and it did prove effective in restoring fellowship. It is perhaps important to note that there was not an absolute agreement in the congregation, since the Apostle notes that the punishment was imposed by the majority. There was room for dissent, but there was no room for rebellion. Paul’s concern was not for his reputation, but for the welfare of the congregation.
The text implies that the apostolic plea to the Corinthians had been heeded: the sinner was disciplined—put out of the congregation and no longer permitted to share with the Body at the Lord’s Table. Three points should be noted. In the first place, I note that the church bears the responsibility to discipline its own members. The congregation dare not ignore sin. Again, the church may discipline only its own members. When a person removes herself or himself from the church, the congregation has no further responsibility to that person other than to love her or him just as they would love any who act as pagans. Thirdly, church discipline must always have the goal of restoring fellowship. Christians are not to seek vengeance; it is not the responsibility of the church to punish. Rather, the people of God are to do all that is possible to foster fellowship.
The discipline imposed by the Corinthian congregation was effective—the sinner repented of his wicked action. He quit his sin, requested forgiveness and sought restoration of fellowship. However, the congregation was not prepared to let him off that easily. Like many modern congregations, they saw discipline as a judicial action instead of recognising discipline as a restorative measure. They were focused on punishment, and not on restoration. Consequently, when the exclusion from the Body brought the sinner to the point of repentance, they were not prepared to forgive.
Forgiveness is not forgetting. Ignoring sin can easily lead to misunderstanding and ultimately to even greater sin. Ignoring sin confirms the sinner in her or his sin. Ignoring sin conveys the idea that sin is merely an irritant, and not a true danger to the people of God. God does not overlook sin; instead, sin extracted a heavy toll of Him. Jesus, God’s own Son, presented Himself as a sacrifice because of sin. Whenever we are tempted to ignore sin, to overlook sin, to minimise sin, we need but remember that sin required the sacrifice of the Son of God. We dare not simply say we will forget.
Forgiveness is not excusing sin. It is not the place of the congregation either to minimise sin or to apologise for the sin of any member of the congregation. It is the responsibility of the congregation to confront the sin and to hold the sinner accountable so that sin will not gain the upper hand in the life of the sinner.
Forgiveness is not conditional. There is no warrant for the people to God to say, “If you will do this, we will forgive you.” Forgiveness must be extended without strings. Forgiveness must be unconditional. We forgive and that is the end of the issue. In fact, we are responsible to extend forgiveness without being asked to do so and without receiving an apology.
This does not mean that those who sin against us do not need to apologise for their sinful actions. It does not mean that the elders of the congregation must not hold those who sin egregiously to account for their actions. Holding the sinner accountable is an act of compassion and love. The sinner does need to repent and confess his or her sin in order to enjoy full acceptance by the congregation, and when the contrite penitent seeks restoration, the church is to accept the confession of sin and then restore the sinner.
Clarity is needed on this point. Forgiveness is anticipated from the one offended whether the sinner repents or not. Restoration is the final step of forgiveness; it is dependent upon forgiveness, but it is separate from forgiveness. It is restoration of the sinner to a position within the assembly, restoration to a position of trust, that is in view; and restoration requires repentance on the part of the sinner. Forgiveness and restoration, while related, are not identical. We seek restoration of the sinner, but forgiveness should be immediate whether restoration is accomplished or not. Forgiveness requires no action on the part of the sinner; but restoration is dependent upon the sinner’s repentance.
Forgiveness, then, is refusing to hold the sinner captive in your own internal court of inquiry; forgiveness released the sinner to God’s judgement. If we truly forgive, we do not demand that the sinner meet our standard of contrition. Forgiveness must not be permitted to degenerate into a judicial proceeding. Forgiveness releases the rights of the one forgiving to demand an apology, though contrition will be necessary for restoration.
Forgiveness is resisting the temptation to think the worst of the sinner, even as we hold the sinner accountable for the sin. Paul did not excuse Peter’s sin when he confronted him in Antioch [see Galatians 2:11-14]; but surely, no one believes Paul harboured animosity toward Peter for his sin? However, had Peter responded with arrogance, defending his sin, Paul would have had no choice but to conclude that fellowship was broken.
Forgiveness is rejecting hatred for the sinner, though the sinner may deny any need to repent or refuse to seek reconciliation. Forgiveness exhibits the love of Christ for the sinner, ruing the harm that the sinner does to herself or himself.
Forgiveness is a choice; it is a deliberate decision to honour God through obeying His command. Because it is a choice, forgiveness is utterly unrelated to how one feels about the individual to be forgiven. Forgiveness is to be extended deliberately and voluntarily; it cannot be demanded. Forgiveness is extended without consideration of whether the one forgiven deserves forgiveness or not.
It is natural that the sinner should want to go back to the beginning without consequences. That cannot be. There are consequences to each action, and when the sinner harms the people of God, damages the reputation of Christ’s Body, disgraces the confession previously made, then the sinner must face up to the consequences. The people of God are not to extract vengeance, but rather they are to acknowledge that the sinner has transgressed and in love hold the sinner to account.
Perhaps we need to be reminded of the covenant we adopted as a congregation to guide our lives. Part of that covenant reads: “We … promise to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember each other in prayer; to help each other in times of trouble; to be not easily offended and always ready to forgive and settle differences, remembering Christ's command to do so quickly.”
Genuine Faith Includes the Courage to Discipline, and Also to Forgive — We have no business disciplining sinful members of the Body if we do not anticipate that the discipline will result in restoration of broken fellowship. When the discipline proves effective at bringing the sinner again into fellowship, we must be prepared to forgive. What does it mean for discipline to be effective? In order to answer this question, we need to consider a broader scope of this issue as found in the Word. Of course, we want to consider why Paul was compelled to urge the Corinthians to forgive the miscreant.
In 2 Corinthians 2:11, the Apostle cautions that we Christians do not want to be outwitted by Satan. We are engaged in war, but it is not war as the world conducts war. Our weapons are weapons of righteousness: purity; knowledge; patience; kindness; the Holy Spirit; genuine love; truthful speech; and the power of God [2 Corinthians 6:6, 7]. The weapons at our disposal are designed to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God [2 Corinthians 10:4, 5]. Because we do not wield armaments that kill does not mean that we are not at war. The war is very real and our enemy is cunning.
Throughout these Corinthians letters, Paul urges unity. Most of the commands issued in the First Corinthian Letter centre on some aspect of unity.[3] To fail to hold one another accountable for the manner in which we live threatens unity. Likewise, to fail to reflect the forgiveness we have received in Christ is a threat to the unity of the Body. The Body of Christ is utterly dependent upon unity. We are family, but even more vital in this regard is the knowledge that we are the Body of Christ. We are interconnected. This is why the Apostle says, if one member suffers, all suffer together [1 Corinthians 12:26].
If we reveal the Faith of Christ the Lord, we reflect the grace we have received in salvation. We did not become Christians because we decided to be Christian. If we are Christians, it is because God has shown us mercy. This is the consistently proclaimed throughout the Word of God. By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast [Ephesians 2:8, 9]. Because we are saved through His grace, we are also changed by His grace. Christians are to be transformed by the renewal of [the] mind [Romans 12:2]. We are taught to anticipate and to reveal the transformation that reflects the nature of God who has saved us; yet, in our salvation, we are being transformed into the … image of the Lord [2 Corinthians 3:18]. The transformation of our lives will be complete at His return [Philippians 3:21]. Transformation is the result of salvation. If you are unchanged, you are unsaved.
What has this to do with the courage to discipline? Simply this, the redeemed are gathered into communities of faith, congregations of people professing salvation. Those members who by lifestyle demonstrate unchanged hearts must be held accountable to the profession they have made. This is not a judgement on whether they are saved or lost, (God knows the heart), but it is a reluctant acknowledgement that the actions reveal an individual that is out of step with the Spirit. If the congregation is composed of people with genuine faith, they are compelled to hold one another accountable to the grace they have received. They dare not ignore sin and they dare not dismiss as inconsequential, evil actions if they will demonstrate the presence of God’s grace.
The Corinthians struggled with the decision of when to cease discipline. Contemporary Christians struggle with when we should ever start discipline. The very mention of church discipline makes us uneasy, and we even question whether we are facing lawsuits because we seek to honour God through the exercise of discipline. Discipline has become the missing mark of holiness among contemporary congregations; we are so immersed in “rights” talk that we are unwilling to hold one another accountable. Perhaps this reveals a failure of the pulpit to teach the love of God, or perhaps it demonstrates an unregenerate congregation that is more focused on “self” than on God’s glory. Whether untaught or unregenerate, a congregation unwilling to discipline the errant is a congregation that knows little of the Faith of Christ the Lord.
If failure to exercise church discipline marks contemporary churches, the failure to forgive the errant is the opposite pole that is equally absent. True faith leads us to seek God’s glory through holding saints responsible for the way they live, but that faith will also acknowledge that we are a forgiven people and we must forgive as we are forgiven.
As Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, He taught those listening what we have come to know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Often neglected from the modern pulpit are the illuminating words Jesus appended when that prayer had been spoken. Listen to this. If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses [Matthew 6:14, 15].
On another occasion, Jesus told a parable of an unjust servant who, though forgiven a massive debt by his master was unwilling to forgive a small debt owed by a fellow servant. The conclusion of that parable relates that the master, upon hearing of the lack of mercy demonstrated by the one who had received such great mercy, threw that unmerciful servant into jail until he could repay his debt. The Lord’s concluding comment should be disturbing to those unwilling to forgive. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart [Matthew 18:35].
James, the brother of our Lord, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, adds his own commentary to the need for Christians to show mercy. Judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgement [James 2:13]. Because we are forgiven such a great debt, we are obligated to be a people that quickly forgive those who offend. I was a terrible sinner, and God forgave me all my sin. I deserved His condemnation, but where justice was expected, mercy prevailed. How can I do anything other than forgive the sinner since I have received such great mercy?
The problem becomes that we imagine that forgiveness excludes accountability. Jesus said, If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him [Luke 17:3]. Sin must be rebuked. However, the one rebuking must be prepared to forgive. Rebuke does not mean that we cease caring for the individual. It is a brother that sins and brings rebuke upon himself; it is not an outsider that sins. Likewise, it is a brother from whom we seek repentance. The people of God must become serious about being Christian in the midst of a fallen world. This means that we must hold one another to account, and we must do this in love. Likewise, we must endeavour to become a community of faith marked by forgiveness for the sinner, and by willingness to restore the penitent.
The restoration of an errant member is two-fold. First, forgiveness must be extended, and this must be without condition. When discipline is effective, as evidenced by the wayward member confessing the sin that brought exclusion, the congregation is to comfort that one and to reaffirm their love for her or him [2 Corinthians 2:7, 8]. The comfort extended consists of encouragement to live a life worthy of the Name of Christ the Lord. Comfort is not commiseration or even soothing words, but rather it is open acceptance of the individual and expressions of assurance that encourage the restored sinner to excel in the Christian life. Paul is not speaking of making the erstwhile sinner feel comfortable about their past sin, but rather he is encouraging the congregation to lead the errant to godly sorrow so that they will find and revel in God’s forgiveness.
If there is a persistent weakness in our own congregation, it is the failure to hold one another accountable for the Faith. Too many, in anger, simply storm away, or worse, simply withdraw. Tragically, those individuals almost always are received by other churches, and we are not even extended the courtesy of notification by those churches.
I witnessed a gifted man on one occasion leave the congregation I pastored. He left in a very public and noisy demonstration of personal pique. He was proscribed from leadership within the congregation because I believed he would benefit from maturation. He was angry at this decision, and so he deliberately interrupted a church service to state his displeasure and to announce that he was withdrawing his membership to join another church. Several church leaders visited his home to plead for him to put aside his anger, but he was adamant that he would not repent of his rage and anger.
Soon, I heard that he was in attendance at another church. Later, I was informed that he had become a youth sponsor in that congregation. Sometime later, I encountered the pastor of that congregation, and as we talked he said, “I have some members from your church. Boy, are they a problem! They have caused me serious headaches!”
I replied to his accusations, “Did you ask me about why they left? Did you ask me if I had concerns? No! You simply took them in and let them begin to work, even in such a sensitive area as your youth ministry. We sought to hold them accountable, but you decided to profit from our internal hurt. If you are going to fish in my pond, keep what you catch.” Had my fellow pastor asked of that man’s previous service and life in our church, he could have saved his congregation considerable grief.
That angry man needed discipline—not punishment, but discipline. He never received it. He is not serving God today; instead, he continues in an anger that has now contaminated even relationships in his family. I forgave him, and the congregation he left so abruptly forgave him, but he has never repented so that restoration could be complete. His demands that the congregation accept him without repentance were rejected, for to do so would have confirmed him in his sin. Had the congregation acceded to his demands, we would not have demonstrated the Faith we had received from Christ.
Our Overarching Goal Must be Unity in the Body of Christ — At stake when the church must discipline is nothing less than the work and the witness of Christ in the world. Satan’s scheme is to destroy the unity of the Body of Christ. Our unity is forged in God’s grace and forgiveness. If Satan can seduce us into thinking that since we have received grace we no longer need to be godly, unity will be destroyed. However, it is as great a threat to unity to refuse to forgive. “It is the unity of forgiven sinners forgiving one another that embodies and manifests the love of Christ ‘in the world … in the holiness and sincerity that are from God’ [2 Corinthians 1:12].”[4]
The example of Christ’s mercy and judgement must serve as guiding principles for decision-making in the church. A worldly church attempts to find justification for its actions instead of trying to bring the actions of members into line with Scripture. Paul is less concerned that the Corinthians find God’s will for their particular circumstances than he was that they discover God’s character as the pattern for their lives.
Too many of the professed saints of God strive to apply the minutiae of Scripture in order to compel an outcome they want, while at the same time ignoring the great, sweeping tenets of godliness that should mark our lives. This effort to compel minute adherence to tedious points of procedure while ignoring broad teaching demonstrates incipient legalism that can only lead to disunity among the people of God. If there is disunity in the church, and there is disunity when we fail to live out our convictions, it comes from several virulent strains of ungodly worldliness that have invaded the Faith.
One aspect of worldliness that has contaminated the churches of our Lord is the failure to insist upon transformed lives. Evangelicalism seems content to say that if you believe Jesus you are saved. In part, this reflects a laissez faire view of conversion and church membership that is more dependent upon democratic idealism than it is on the Word of Truth. Nevertheless, the Word is quite clear that faith that fails to transform is no faith at all. One need but think of the passage that frequently concludes messages delivered from this pulpit. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved [Romans 10:9, 10].
Believing in Christ as Lord of life results in a transformed life. We trust Christ in the present because of His acts in the past. This leads inevitably to focusing our hope on His promise for the future. Our religious convictions shape our interaction with the world, instead of being shaped by the world. If we are truly saved, our convictions will not submit to the world about us. Consequently, we will realise that we are responsible to honour God and to demonstrate a submissive spirit toward the Assembly of Believers. Moreover, we will take seriously the unity of the Body and hold one another accountable.
Another demonstration of worldliness that has contaminated our churches today is a spirit of competition and corruption. Public figures, including religious leaders, avoid living transparently, and consequently, even church members fail to live open, honourable lives. The natural tendency of the world is to cover over mistakes and sin. When a church has a problem, the natural tendency is to invoke privacy to keep the congregation from knowing what has occurred. Consequently, church members use this cloak of secrecy to mask their real agendas and to avoid confronting sinful behaviour. Until we again live open, transparent lives, unity will not be evident among us.
I am not suggesting that there are not times to be silent. Clearly, in cases where the risk of violence or personal injury to others is present, or to avoid violating a confidence created for the good of others, we need to maintain a measure of secrecy. However, attempting to cover over our own sin, especially when it has created conflict within the Body of Christ, is evidence that we know little of God who is light.
The third and final demonstration of a spirit of worldliness among the faithful is self-generated, self-centred joy. While many among the saints fume and seethe at the thought that they cannot have first place in the church, the example of the Apostle is that the joy or sorrow of another within the church is the joy or sorrow of all. Paul longed for the Corinthians to experience the joy that comes from the Faith. Therefore, his goal was to build up the faith of the Corinthians so that they would experience the joy of Christ. Paul confronted them for their failure to deal with sin, not because he intended to punish them, but because he was seeking their good and God’s glory.
Too often Christians have become so focused on their own immediate happiness that they willingly sacrifice the joy of the entire assembly. Joy is the natural condition of the congregation that knows the unity of the Faith and walks in the presence of Christ the Lord. Though confrontation may be painful, the godly congregation knows that joy results from courageously confronting the sin of errant members. One cannot read Paul’s words in this passage without drawing the conclusion that the Apostle was seeking the welfare of the Corinthians and endeavouring to lead them to delight in Christ.[5]
My concern is twofold. For those who are members of this congregation, especially, and for all who are Christians, are you seeking God’s glory? Are you living with an attitude of openness and submission to righteousness that willingly receives expressions of concern for your spiritual welfare? Or, have you bought into the worldly attitude that what you do has no relationship to your membership in the Body? Surely you have not begun to imagine that your actions are your business and not the proper concern of the people of God whom you claim as Family?
As members of the Body of Christ, are you willing to hold one another accountable in love? Are you willing to speak to the errant brother or sister to tell him or her of your concern? When a brother or sister speaks to you out of a heart of concern, are you willing to accept their concern? Or, are you one who reacts in choler at any suggestion that you are less than perfect?
As Christians, we are called to live lives that reflect the presence of Christ, demonstrating a spirit of submission. My encouragement to all who name the Name of Christ is to reflect on the apostolic teaching so that together we will honour His Name.
You who hear this message and are somehow outside the precincts of the Faith, I offer the forgiveness of sin through faith in the Living Lord, Jesus Christ the Son of God. There is a place for you in the Family of God and a place for you among the people of God, when you have been born from above. This is the Word of God.
If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved… For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [Romans 10:9, 10, 13].
Believe this Good News and be saved today. Having believed, come join together with your fellow believers so that you may be discipled—disciplined in truth. Amen.
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[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2001. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] David E. Garland, New American Commentary: 2 Corinthians, Volume 29 (Broadman & Holman, Nashville, TN 1999) 118
[3] See 1 Corinthian 1:10; 3:1-3; 4:14, 16; 5:4a, 5a, 7a, 8b; 6:1, 4, 6, 7, 18, 20; 8:9, 13; 10:14; 11:33, 34
[4] Scott J. Hagemann, NIV Application Commentary: 2 Corinthians (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 2000) 103
[5] These three areas of concern are suggested by Hafemann, op. cit. 97-101