Overflowing Joy in Overwhelming Affliction
Intro:
Here, following the section calling for no compromise with paganism (6:14–7:1), Paul renews his appeal to the Corinthians to open their hearts to their apostle, thus taking up again what he said earlier in 6:11–13.
2. Open your hearts to us (lit. ‘make room for us’). The verb form is aorist imperative, indicating that Paul was looking for some specific action, rather than simply making a general exhortation, which in turn suggests that Paul believed there was still some reticence on the part of the Corinthians to make room in their hearts for him. In the earlier appeal (6:11–13) he stressed that his own heart was opened wide towards them and that the remaining restriction in the relationship was on their side.
An Appeal for Reconciliation (2 Cor. 7:2–16)
“Open wide your hearts to us!” (2 Cor. 6:13) “Receive us!” (2 Cor. 7:2) “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) If the Corinthians would only cleanse their lives and their church fellowship, God would receive them (2 Cor. 6:17) and they could again have close fellowship with Paul.
Paul uses language of great affection; see 6:11–13. The greatest expression of devotion in Greco-Roman literature was willingness to die with someone (which also makes sense outside Greek culture; see 2 Sam 15:21; Jn 13:37; 15:13).
To see gospel transformation in action, consider these movements of grace: Paul receives comfort in his affliction from Christ (1:5). This gives him the confidence and grace to write a difficult letter to the Corinthians in which he speaks the truth in love (7:8; see 2:1–11). Their response is godly sorrow that leads to repentance (7:10). Their repentance leads to a renewed zeal for godliness (v. 11). As they are refreshed by the Spirit, they become a source of refreshment-bringing joy to their leaders through their obedience to the gospel (vv. 13b, 15). In turn, Titus experiences rejuvenation, which causes Paul to rejoice all the more (v. 13b). The gospel transformation is beautifully personal and interpersonal. When I pass on to my community the comfort I have received from Christ, the effect is a multiplication of the grace that I have received (v. 10), which is cause for both comfort and rejoicing (vv. 13, 16).
God, who comforts the downcast. This is one of several timeless affirmations about God’s character and actions in this letter (cf. 1:3–4, 9; 13:11). Here God comforts the dejected apostle in three ways: (1) by Titus’s safe arrival (here), (2) by Titus’s positive experience at Corinth (v. 7), and (3) by the reassuring news Titus brought about the Corinthians’ attitude toward Paul (v. 7). No Scriptural verse better sums up Paul’s feelings expressed in vv. 5–7 than Ps 94:19: “When anxiety was great within me, your [the Lord’s] consolation brought me joy.”
First, Paul asserts, we have wronged no one. What had happened in the relationship, of course, is that Paul had been wronged (cf. 7:12) and not vice versa. Second, he says, we have corrupted no one. The verb, ‘to corrupt’ (phtheirō), is used three times in the Corinthian correspondence.
In all probability, therefore, Paul’s meaning in our present context is that he has caused the church no harm, his teaching and example have not corrupted it or encouraged immoral behaviour.
Biblical examples of godly grief can be seen in the cases of David (2 Sam. 12:13; Ps. 51), Peter (Mark 14:72) and Paul himself (Acts 9:1–22), while examples of worldly grief are to be found in the cases of Esau (Gen. 27:1–40; Heb. 12:15–17) and Judas (Matt. 27:3–5). It is worth noting that Paul acted to head off the possibility of mere worldly grief in the case of the ‘offender’, when in 2:7 he urged his readers to reaffirm their love to him so that he might not be overcome with grief and so be lost to the church (see commentary on 2:5–11).
But Paul was encouraged by the report that Titus gave of his reception at Corinth. They had read Paul’s “painful letter” and had repented of their sins and disciplined the members who had created the problems. It is unfortunate that the King James Version translates two different Greek words as “repent,” for they have different meanings. The word repent in 2 Corinthians 7:8 means “regret,” and repented in 2 Corinthians 7:10 means “to be regretted.”
Paul had written them a stern letter, and then had regretted it. But the letter achieved its purpose and the Corinthians repented, and this made Paul rejoice. Their repentance was not merely a passing “regret”; it was a true godly sorrow for sin. “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death” (2 Cor. 7:10, NIV). The difference is seen in Judas and Peter. Judas “repented himself” (was full of regret) and went and committed suicide, while Peter wept and repented of his fall (Matt. 26:75–27:5).
Do Christians need to repent? Jesus said that we do (Luke 17:3–4), and Paul agreed with Him (2 Cor. 12:21). Four of the seven churches of Asia Minor, listed in Revelation 2–3, were commanded to repent. To repent simply means “to change one’s mind,” and disobedient Christians need to repent, not in order to be saved, but in order to restore their close fellowship with God.
Paul’s self-description says that he was “downcast” (cf. v. 6), or as the NASB has it, “depressed”—a sense commended both by the context and the psychological import of Paul’s description. Paul is perfectly clear as to why he was down: “For even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—fighting without and fear within” (note: “fighting” and “fear” are plural in the Greek) (v. 5).
Titus’s coming. The divine antidote to Paul’s depression was this: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus” (v. 6). Without warning, Titus showed up!
There is a worldly grief that can be very bitter and intense, like that of Esau who grieved with many tears over the loss of his birthright but found no place for repentance (cf. Hebrews 12:16, 17). Worldly grief is deficient because it is not distinct from sin; rather it is redolent of the very essence of sin and self. This is because self is the center point of sin. As Archbishop William Temple so memorably put it, “I am the centre of the world I see; where the horizon is depends on where I stand.”10 Therefore, “worldly grief” is a grief for oneself, centered on self, not grief for sin against God. It grieves over consequences. It aches with embarrassment. It focuses on its own hurt. It is self-pitying.
Godly sorrow … worldly sorrow. There are two ways to react to pain or sorrow: (1) Sorrow borne God’s way (“godly sorrow,” or sorrow as God intended) always produces a change of heart, and this repentance “leads to salvation” (both present spiritual vitality and future eternal life) and therefore gives no cause for regret. (2) Sorrow borne in a worldly way (“worldly sorrow”) does not lead to repentance but has the deadly effect of producing resentment or bitterness. What makes suffering remedial is not actually experiencing it but reacting to it: a “godly” or positive reaction brings spiritual benefit, both now and in the hereafter, whereas a “worldly” or negative reaction causes serious harm.
7:6, 7 comforted us by the coming of Titus … when he told us. The Gr. word for “coming” refers to the actual presence of Titus with Paul. But comforting Paul beyond just the arrival of Titus, which was a blessing, was the encouraging report he gave regarding the repentance of the Corinthians and their positive response to Paul’s letter carried by Titus.
7:10 godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation.“Godly sorrow” refers to sorrow that is according to the will of God and produced by the Holy Spirit (see note on 2 Tim. 2:25). True repentance cannot occur apart from such a genuine sorrow over one’s sin. The word “leading” is supplied by the translators; Paul was saying that repentance belongs to the realm or sphere of salvation.
3:2 Repent. This is no mere academic change of mind, nor mere regret or remorse. John the Baptist spoke of repentance as a radical turning from sin that inevitably became manifest in the fruit of righteousness (v. 8). Jesus’ first sermon began with the same imperative (4:17). For a discussion of the nature of repentance, see notes on 2 Cor. 7:8–11.
As such it was a godly sorrow (like Peter’s remorse after his denial of Christ). This was not a worldly sorrow which brings death (like Judas’ “sorrow” after he betrayed the Lord; Matt. 27:3–5). The Corinthians’ genuine sorrow … produced several things: (a) an earnestness or concerted effort to make amends, (b) an eagerness to vindicate themselves, (c) indignation against Paul’s opponent (2 Cor. 2:5–11), (d) alarm at their own passivity and its injurious effects (2:1–4), (e) longing and concern for Paul (cf. 7:7), and (f) readiness to see justice done (2:6).
In all this they proved they were innocent by virtue of their repentance. They had sinned not so much by doing wrong but by failing to do right (cf. James 4:17) and of this they had repented (2 Cor. 7:10).
To see gospel transformation in action, consider these movements of grace: Paul receives comfort in his affliction from Christ (1:5). This gives him the confidence and grace to write a difficult letter to the Corinthians in which he speaks the truth in love (7:8; see 2:1–11). Their response is godly sorrow that leads to repentance (7:10). Their repentance leads to a renewed zeal for godliness (v. 11). As they are refreshed by the Spirit, they become a source of refreshment-bringing joy to their leaders through their obedience to the gospel (vv. 13b, 15). In turn, Titus experiences rejuvenation, which causes Paul to rejoice all the more (v. 13b). The gospel transformation is beautifully personal and interpersonal. When I pass on to my community the comfort I have received from Christ, the effect is a multiplication of the grace that I have received (v. 10), which is cause for both comfort and rejoicing (vv. 13, 16).