Exploring Corinthians #30

2 Corinthians 2:1–11 NKJV

1 But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. 2 For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me? 3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. 4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. 5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. 6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

2 For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy,

having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all.

4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. 6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

– THE STRATEGY OF SATAN

A. Paul’s change of plans: more reasons why the Corinthians misinterpreted why he did not come to them a second time.

1. (1-2) Paul remembers his sorrowful visit to the Corinthians.

But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

a. But I determined: Carrying on the thought from chapter one, Paul defends himself against the Corinthian Christians. Some among them criticized him because he changed his travel plans and did not come when he planned to. They used this change of plans to say of Paul, “He is unreliable and untrustworthy. We don’t need to listen to him at all.” But Paul explains there were many reasons why he did not come as planned, one of them being he was trying to spare the Corinthians ().

b. I would not come again to you in sorrow: Paul’s most recent visit to Corinth was full of conflict and unpleasantness. So he determined that he would not have another “sorrowful” visit with the Corinthians.

i. “Because of the scandals that were among them he could not see them comfortably; and therefore he determined not to see them at all till he had reason to believe that those evils were put away.” (Clarke)

c. If I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad? Paul also knew that another painful visit would not be good for him. The constant conflict with the Corinthian Christians could really damage his relationship with them.

i. It seems that Paul thought it best to give the Corinthian Christians a little room, and give them space to repent and get their act together. He didn’t want to rebuke and admonish them all the time. Since this was Paul’s heart, he knew that another visit of the same kind would be of little benefit for either Paul or the Corinthian Christians.

2. (3-4) Instead of a second visit, Paul wrote a letter.

And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, having confidence in you all that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

a. And I wrote this very thing to you: Paul wisely understood that considering all the circumstances, a letter was better than a personal visit. A letter could show Paul’s heart, yet not give as much opportunity for the deterioration of their relationship. It would give them room to repent and get right with God and Paul again.

i. Where is this letter that Paul mentions? Some good scholars see the “sorrowful letter” as 1 Corinthians, but it seems better to think of it as another letter that we don’t have. Does this mean that something is missing from our Bibles? Not at all. Not every letter that Paul wrote was inspired Scripture for all God’s people in all ages. We can trust that what Paul wrote in the missing letter was perfect for the Corinthian Christians at that time, but not perfect for us; otherwise, God would have preserved it. We shouldn’t think that everything Paul or the other Bible writers wrote was necessarily Scripture.

b. Lest when I came, I should have sorrow: Paul hoped that his letter would get all the painful work out of the way. Then when he did visit them personally, it would be a pleasant visit because they would have taken advantage of the opportunity he gave them to get right.

c. Over those from whom I ought to have joy: The bad conduct of the Corinthian Christians was all the more troubling considering how they should have treated the apostle who gave them so much.

d. Out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you: Paul did not enjoy confronting the Corinthian Christians. It was hard for him to do, and he did it with many tears. His goal was not that you should be grieved, but instead that the Corinthian Christians would know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

i. It would take some maturity for the Corinthian Christians to receive Paul’s correction this way. It is easy for us to think a person offering correction is our enemy and sometimes is against us. But usually others bring correction because they love us, as Paul loved the Corinthian Christians. His goal was not to grieve them, but to love them.

ii. “Where I have known that there existed a measure of disaffection to myself, I have not recognised it, unless it has been forced upon me, but have, on the contrary, acted towards the opposing person with all the more courtesy and friendliness, and I have never heard any more of the matter. If I had treated the good man as an opponent, he would have done his best to take the part assigned him, and carry it out to his own credit.” (Spurgeon)

e. I wrote to you, with many tears: “St. Paul’s Epistles were written rather with tears than with ink.” (Trapp)

B. Paul’s appeal to forgive the brother who had sinned.

3. (5-7) Paul recommends that the Corinthian Christians forgive the brother who had sinned (and repented) among them.

But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

a. If anyone has caused grief: Paul displays real pastoral wisdom and compassion. He refers to a specific person among the Corinthians, but he does not name the man. Certainly, this man is happy his name was not recorded in God’s eternal word.

b. Who is this man? He is probably the same one that Paul told the Corinthian Christians to confront in . The phrase such a man is used in both books to describe the man sinning in an incestuous affair. He lived immorally with his stepmother.

i. Some commentators disagree and think Paul speaks of another man all together. They believe this man sinned by insulting Paul to his face during his “painful visit.” But says that Paul expected the Corinthian Christians to forgive the brother first, then he would forgive. If the offense had been something personal towards Paul, we would expect it to be the other way around. In fact, Paul plainly says he has not grieved me. His first offense was not against Paul. So, it is likely that such a man was the one Paul said must be confronted in .

c. Not to be too severe: Apparently, the man was put under the church’s discipline, even as Paul instructed in . He received this punishment which was inflicted by the majority. After receiving the punishment, the man apparently repented, but the Corinthian Christians would not receive him back! Therefore, Paul tells them to not be too severe, to consider their punishment sufficient, and to forgive and comfort the man.

i. In , Paul sharply rebuked the Corinthian Christians for their casual attitude towards this man and his sin. He commanded them when you are gathered together… deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (). Paul told them to put the man outside the spiritual and social protection of the church family until he repented.

ii. It worked! The Corinthian Christians applied the punishment, and apparently the man repented. Now, Paul must tell the Corinthian Christians to restore the repentant man.

d. Forgive and comfort him: They were just as wrong in withholding forgiveness and restoration to the man when he repented as they were to welcome him with open, approving arms when he was in sin. The Corinthian Christians found it easy to err on either extreme, either being too lenient or too harsh.

i. Paul told them to do more than forgive; he also told them to comfort. “There may be a judicial forgiveness which is hard, and leaves the soul always conscious of the past. Comfort takes the soul to heart, and forgets. That is how God forgives, and so should we who are His children.” (Morgan)

ii. “If discipline is largely lacking in the Church of today, so also is the grace of forgiving and comforting those who, having done wrong, are truly repentant. How often, alas! souls have been indeed swallowed up with overmuch sorrow because of the harshness and suspicion of Christian people toward them in view of some wrong which they have done… Love never slights holiness; but holiness never slays love.” (Morgan)

e. Lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow: Their harsh stance towards this man had a real danger: By withholding restoration and forgiveness from the man they risked ruining him, causing him to be swallowed up with too much sorrow.

i. Restoring work towards sinners is just as important as rebuking work. Trapp cites an extreme example of the failure to restore: “The Papists burnt some that recanted at the stake, saying, that they would send them out of the world while they were in a good mind.”

ii. Restoring work towards sinners is just as important as rebuking work. Trapp cites an extreme example of the failure to restore: “The Papists burnt some that recanted at the stake, saying, that they would send them out of the world while they were in a good mind.”

4. (8-11) Understanding Satan’s strategy in the matter.

Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

a. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him: Since the man responded to the correction and repented, it was time for love and healing. They needed to reaffirm their love to him.

i. “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 more likely to be brought to repentance.” (Hodge)

b. That I might put you to the test: Paul wrote strongly in , and the Corinthian Christians met the test by doing what Paul said to do. Now he puts them to the test again, telling them to show love to the repentant brother.

i. Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to be obedient in all things. Would they find it easier to be obedient when he asked them to be “tough” than when he asked them to show love and restoration?

c. I forgive also: The offending man had also sinned against Paul in some way, either directly or indirectly. Paul expected the Corinthian Christians to take the lead in showing the man forgiveness and restoration.

i. Even if the church must treat someone as an unbeliever as a matter of church discipline, we must remember how we are to treat unbelievers: with love and concern, hoping to win them to Jesus, anxious for repentance.

ii. There is no inconsistency: If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. ()

d. Lest Satan should take advantage of us: Paul knew this was of special concern because Satan looks to take advantage of our mistakes, as a church and as individuals.

i. Trapp describes how Satan loves to take advantage: “That wily merchant, that greedy blood-sucker, that devoureth not widows’ houses, but most men’s souls.”

i. Take advantage (the ancient Greek word pleonekteo) is used in four other verses in the New Testament (, , and ). It has the idea of cheating someone out of something that belongs to them. When we are ignorant of Satan’s strategies, he is able to take things from us that belong to us in Jesus, things like peace, joy, fellowship, a sense of forgiveness, and victory.

e. For we are not ignorant of his devices: Their failure to show love to the repentant man could be used as a strategy of Satan.

i. To withhold forgiveness from the repentant is to play into the hands of Satan. “There is nothing more dangerous than to give Satan a chance of reducing a sinner to despair. Whenever we fail to comfort those that are moved to a sincere confession of their sin, we play into Satan’s hands.” (Calvin)

f. His devices: Satan has specific devices (strategies) he uses against us to take advantage of us. Paul could say that he was not ignorant of Satan’s strategies, but many Christians cannot say the same thing.

i. Satan’s strategy against the sinning man was first focused on lust, then he used hopelessness and despair. Satan’s strategy against the church was first the toleration of evil, then using undue severity in punishment. Satan’s strategy against Paul was to simply make him so stressed and upset over the Corinthian Christians that he lost peace and was less effective in ministry.

ii. Calvin defined these devices as “the artful schemes and tricks of which believers ought to be aware, and will be if they allow the Spirit of God to rule in them.” Are you allowing the Spirit to make you aware of Satan’s strategy against you right now? What weak point is he trying to exploit? Where is Satan trying to get a foothold into your life? Are you ignorant of his devices?