返回Chapter 7
Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
2 Cor. 7:1. Therefore, beloved, having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
What promises? That is, that we are temples of God, that God Himself and the Father dwells and walks in us. Let us cleanse ourselves from impure deeds — for this is what "defilement of the flesh" means — and from impure and passionate thoughts — for this is what "defilement of the spirit" means, that is, of the soul.
2 Cor. 7:1. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
It is not enough, he says, to abstain from impurity, but one must also do something good — "holiness," that is, purity, chastity. He added "in the fear of God" either because there is a chastity preserved out of people-pleasing and not in the fear of God, or in order to show us how one ought to preserve it, namely in the fear of God. For however great the power of the flesh may be, have the fear of God, and you will overcome its frenzy. By holiness, understand not chastity alone, but also in general every purity in life.
2 Cor. 7:2. Make room for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have defrauded no one.
Again he speaks of love. Previously he struck fear into them, saying that they had departed from him and joined themselves to unbelievers and the unclean. Now he softens toward them, saying: "receive us," that is, give us a spacious place within yourselves, so that we are not constrained in you. Hinting at the false apostles, he says: "we have wronged no one" — in possessions; "we have corrupted no one," that is, we have not beguiled anyone by corrupting their mind with impious teaching; "we have taken advantage of no one," that is, we have not sought profit for ourselves under the pretext of preaching.
2 Cor. 7:3. I do not speak to condemn you; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, so as both to die together and to live together.
I say this not to condemn you. How is this evident? From love; for you are in our hearts. But since someone might love yet not wish to expose himself to dangers, he says: "to die together." And since there are many who do not rejoice in the prosperity of friends out of envy, he added: "and to live." The meaning of what is said is this: in dangers we do not flee from you, and in prosperity we live with you and do not envy you.
2 Cor. 7:4. I have great confidence in you, I boast greatly about you,
It would seem that he offended them by saying "you are restricted in your own hearts" and "make room for us." Therefore now he both justifies himself and heals them, saying: I said this not in order to condemn you, but out of my great boldness toward you and out of a desire to urge you to virtue. For that I do not condemn you is evident from the fact that I boast of you before others.
2 Cor. 7:4. I am filled with consolation, I overflow with joy, in all our affliction.
Having corrected yourselves, he says, in that for which I censured you in my former epistle, you filled me with comfort, and not only comforted me, that is, freed me from sorrow, but also abundantly filled me with joy. The abundance of joy he expresses with the word "I exceedingly abound." This joy, he says, was such that in all our affliction, however great it was, it prevailed over and extinguished the affliction. This would seem to contradict what was said about them a little earlier, but in reality it does not contradict it. For both are characteristic of one who loves: the former as one who reproves, and the latter as one who encourages, because reproofs come not from hostility but from intense love.
2 Cor. 7:5. For when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest,
He speaks of his sorrow and describes it in strong terms, in order to show how great was the joy from them, since it drove away even such sorrow. He well said that the "flesh" had no rest; for the soul of Paul was unconquerable.
2 Cor. 7:5. but we were pressed on every side: from without – attacks,
"Attacks" from unbelievers.
2 Cor. 7:5. inside – fears.
Because among the faithful there are weak ones who could be led astray by false brethren.
2 Cor. 7:6. But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
Since he said much in praise of the Corinthians, he brings Titus as a witness. Who then "comforts the downcast"? God, he says. He also comforted us by sending us Titus; for his arrival was sufficient to dispel our sorrow. He also wishes to present this man to them as worthy of respect, which is why he ascribes great significance to his arrival.
2 Cor. 7:7. And not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled concerning you,
He comforted you, he says, not only by being with you during your time of sorrow, but also by announcing to you your virtue, by which he himself was also comforted, that is, he rejoiced over you, accepting you on account of your virtues. He wins for this man their goodwill, as one who praised them before him.
2 Cor. 7:7. Recounting to us your earnest desire, your weeping, your zeal for me,
Probably the Corinthians were weeping and grieving that their teacher was so troubled in spirit and had not been with them for so long. Therefore he did not simply say "tears," but "weeping," and not ἐπιθυμίαν, but ἐπιπόθησιν, that is, intense longing, and not anger, but "zeal" against the fornicator. For my sake you were inflamed and burned to carry out my command; for my sake you were zealous even before the false apostles. The apostle says this not only to heal the former reproaches, but also because he accepts those who have corrected themselves; for although many were wicked and unworthy of these praises, he does not separate them, but praises and reproaches all together, leaving it to the conscience of each to choose what belongs to him.
2 Cor. 7:7. so that I rejoiced even more.
I, he says, rejoiced both at the presence of Titus, but even more at the fact that he reported to me such news about you.
2 Cor. 7:8. Therefore, if I grieved you with my epistle, I do not regret it, though I did regret it,
Although I wrote to you in such a way, he says, that I exceeded the measure of reproach and ought to have repented of having censured you beyond measure, yet the great benefit arising from it does not allow me now to repent. He said this not because he had in fact censured them beyond measure, but in order to increase their praise.
2 Cor. 7:8. For I see that that epistle made you sorrowful, though but for a time.
2 Cor. 7:9. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful unto repentance; for you were made sorrowful for God's sake,
The sorrow was temporary – for an hour, but the benefit was everlasting. "I rejoice," he says, "not because you were grieved" (for what benefit is your sorrow to me?), "but that you were grieved to repentance." Notice how he attributes the sorrow to repentance, and does not say that he brought them benefit – which would have been fair – but ascribes this matter to their virtue. You were grieved, he says, but you were grieved "for God's sake."
2 Cor. 7:9. So that you suffered no harm at all from us.
Having been reproved, he says, by us, you were grieved according to God, and henceforth you will suffer no harm from us in anything. For all of you, not excluding even the one who had fallen into the most extreme sin and fornication, have improved. A teacher causes harm to a student when he does not reprove the one who is sinning. For if he had been reproved, he would have received benefit.
2 Cor. 7:10. For godly sorrow produces steadfast repentance unto salvation, while worldly sorrow produces death.
He discusses sorrow and shows that sorrow is not always an evil, but only when it is according to the world, that is, over possessions, glory, or the dead. For such sorrow "produces death," assuredly already of the soul, and often of the body as well, for through this many have perished. But if someone voluntarily grieves over sins, he grieves "for God's sake"; for this remedy has been prepared for the case of this one disease alone, for the production of unchanging repentance (for none of those who grieve with it ever repented of doing so) and for the deliverance of man from the death of the soul.
2 Cor. 7:11. For this very thing, that you were made sorry in a godly manner, see what earnestness it produced in you,
Not from the example of others, he says, do I prove the benefit of godly sorrow, but from your own experience. For you not only did not regret that you were grieved, but you became more careful about yourselves.
2 Cor. 7:11. "what excuses,"
Apologies before me; for I have forgiven you, because you repented.
2 Cor. 7:11. what indignation against the guilty one,
Against the one who committed fornication.
2 Cor. 7:11. what fear,
Before me; for you corrected yourselves quickly anyway, because you were frightened.
2 Cor. 7:11. what desire,
"To me." When he spoke of fear, lest they think he was presenting himself as some kind of ruler, he immediately corrected himself by using the word "desire," which is a sign of love, not of authority.
2 Cor. 7:11. what zeal,
To God.
2 Cor. 7:11. what a penalty,
For the laws of God; for you punished those who transgressed them.
2 Cor. 7:11. In everything you have shown yourselves to be pure in this matter.
You, he says, not only did not do anything such as the fornicator did, but you did not even show indulgence toward him. In the former epistle he said: "and you are puffed up" (1 Cor. 5:2), which made them partakers of the transgression; therefore here he says: now you have cleansed yourselves even from this suspicion, and have shown yourselves to be pure from reproach.
2 Cor. 7:12. So then, if I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender, nor for the sake of the offended, but that our care for you might be revealed to you before God.
Lest they should say to him: why then did you rebuke us, if we were clean of transgression? he says: I so respect what was previously written by me and do not repent of rebuking you, that I say: I wrote that so that my love for you and my care for you might be revealed "before God," that is, before God, who sees that this is just. I was afraid lest the infection should spread to you as well. Whom does he mean by "the one who did the wrong" and "the one who suffered the wrong"? The fornicators; because both he and she wronged each other. How then does he say that he wrote not for their sake? That is, although I wrote for their sake as well, it was not exclusively for their sake, but also for your sake, taking care that the whole community not be corrupted. So also when he says: "Does God take care of oxen?" (1 Cor. 9:9), he does not mean that God does not care for them; otherwise why were they created? but rather that God gave the law not primarily for the sake of oxen.
2 Cor. 7:13. Therefore we were comforted
I showed my care for you, and my hopes did not deceive me; therefore, he says, I was greatly comforted.
2 Cor. 7:13. your consolation; and still more were we gladdened by the joy of Titus,
Now to the consolation with which you consoled me, as I said, a great joy was added — the joy of Titus. And this joy and consolation is on your account and for your sake. Therefore he goes on to say.
2 Cor. 7:13. that you all set his spirit at rest.
2 Cor. 7:14. So I was not put to shame, if I boasted anything about you before him,
I, he says, rejoiced at this, that Titus found you to be such as I had described you to him in words. And he himself was comforted when he found you to be such and encountered nothing rude or unpleasant from you. And the fact that Paul boasts about his disciples shows that they were virtuous and that he was loving toward his children. Such should disciples and teachers be even now.
2 Cor. 7:14. But just as we spoke all truth to you, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be true,
As everything I preached to you was true (or, perhaps, he speaks of the praises he expressed about Titus), so also everything I boasted about you turned out to be true.
2 Cor. 7:15. And his heart is exceedingly affectionate toward you.
With these words he praises Titus, so that they too might come to love him, as one bound to him and ardently loving them. Therefore he also said: "his heart," in order to show the strength and fervor of his disposition and sincere love for them.
2 Cor. 7:15. At the remembrance of the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.
He sets forth the reasons for Titus's such love for them, showing that they themselves gave occasion for such love, and at the same time urging them also to greater love. For you did not simply show love toward him or care for him, but also obedience, receiving him as children receive a father and at the same time as a superior — "with fear" and even "trembling." By this very thing he testifies to their twofold virtue: love, as toward a father, and fear, as toward a superior, so that in them neither did love weaken fear, nor did fear poison love.
2 Cor. 7:16. Therefore I rejoice that in everything I can have confidence in you.
I rejoice not only about Titus, that you honored him, but also that I find you to be such people – not shaming me, but giving me boldness to speak about you openly in every matter and at every time. And in another sense, "I can rely on you," because whether I do something for you or speak to you, you will readily accept it, whether it be necessary to rebuke or praise you for your correction, or to prescribe something difficult to you.
2 Cor. 7:1. Therefore, beloved, having such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,
What promises? That is, that we are temples of God, that God Himself and the Father dwells and walks in us. Let us cleanse ourselves from impure deeds — for this is what "defilement of the flesh" means — and from impure and passionate thoughts — for this is what "defilement of the spirit" means, that is, of the soul.
2 Cor. 7:1. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
It is not enough, he says, to abstain from impurity, but one must also do something good — "holiness," that is, purity, chastity. He added "in the fear of God" either because there is a chastity preserved out of people-pleasing and not in the fear of God, or in order to show us how one ought to preserve it, namely in the fear of God. For however great the power of the flesh may be, have the fear of God, and you will overcome its frenzy. By holiness, understand not chastity alone, but also in general every purity in life.
2 Cor. 7:2. Make room for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have defrauded no one.
Again he speaks of love. Previously he struck fear into them, saying that they had departed from him and joined themselves to unbelievers and the unclean. Now he softens toward them, saying: "receive us," that is, give us a spacious place within yourselves, so that we are not constrained in you. Hinting at the false apostles, he says: "we have wronged no one" — in possessions; "we have corrupted no one," that is, we have not beguiled anyone by corrupting their mind with impious teaching; "we have taken advantage of no one," that is, we have not sought profit for ourselves under the pretext of preaching.
2 Cor. 7:3. I do not speak to condemn you; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, so as both to die together and to live together.
I say this not to condemn you. How is this evident? From love; for you are in our hearts. But since someone might love yet not wish to expose himself to dangers, he says: "to die together." And since there are many who do not rejoice in the prosperity of friends out of envy, he added: "and to live." The meaning of what is said is this: in dangers we do not flee from you, and in prosperity we live with you and do not envy you.
2 Cor. 7:4. I have great confidence in you, I boast greatly about you,
It would seem that he offended them by saying "you are restricted in your own hearts" and "make room for us." Therefore now he both justifies himself and heals them, saying: I said this not in order to condemn you, but out of my great boldness toward you and out of a desire to urge you to virtue. For that I do not condemn you is evident from the fact that I boast of you before others.
2 Cor. 7:4. I am filled with consolation, I overflow with joy, in all our affliction.
Having corrected yourselves, he says, in that for which I censured you in my former epistle, you filled me with comfort, and not only comforted me, that is, freed me from sorrow, but also abundantly filled me with joy. The abundance of joy he expresses with the word "I exceedingly abound." This joy, he says, was such that in all our affliction, however great it was, it prevailed over and extinguished the affliction. This would seem to contradict what was said about them a little earlier, but in reality it does not contradict it. For both are characteristic of one who loves: the former as one who reproves, and the latter as one who encourages, because reproofs come not from hostility but from intense love.
2 Cor. 7:5. For when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest,
He speaks of his sorrow and describes it in strong terms, in order to show how great was the joy from them, since it drove away even such sorrow. He well said that the "flesh" had no rest; for the soul of Paul was unconquerable.
2 Cor. 7:5. but we were pressed on every side: from without – attacks,
"Attacks" from unbelievers.
2 Cor. 7:5. inside – fears.
Because among the faithful there are weak ones who could be led astray by false brethren.
2 Cor. 7:6. But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
Since he said much in praise of the Corinthians, he brings Titus as a witness. Who then "comforts the downcast"? God, he says. He also comforted us by sending us Titus; for his arrival was sufficient to dispel our sorrow. He also wishes to present this man to them as worthy of respect, which is why he ascribes great significance to his arrival.
2 Cor. 7:7. And not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was consoled concerning you,
He comforted you, he says, not only by being with you during your time of sorrow, but also by announcing to you your virtue, by which he himself was also comforted, that is, he rejoiced over you, accepting you on account of your virtues. He wins for this man their goodwill, as one who praised them before him.
2 Cor. 7:7. Recounting to us your earnest desire, your weeping, your zeal for me,
Probably the Corinthians were weeping and grieving that their teacher was so troubled in spirit and had not been with them for so long. Therefore he did not simply say "tears," but "weeping," and not ἐπιθυμίαν, but ἐπιπόθησιν, that is, intense longing, and not anger, but "zeal" against the fornicator. For my sake you were inflamed and burned to carry out my command; for my sake you were zealous even before the false apostles. The apostle says this not only to heal the former reproaches, but also because he accepts those who have corrected themselves; for although many were wicked and unworthy of these praises, he does not separate them, but praises and reproaches all together, leaving it to the conscience of each to choose what belongs to him.
2 Cor. 7:7. so that I rejoiced even more.
I, he says, rejoiced both at the presence of Titus, but even more at the fact that he reported to me such news about you.
2 Cor. 7:8. Therefore, if I grieved you with my epistle, I do not regret it, though I did regret it,
Although I wrote to you in such a way, he says, that I exceeded the measure of reproach and ought to have repented of having censured you beyond measure, yet the great benefit arising from it does not allow me now to repent. He said this not because he had in fact censured them beyond measure, but in order to increase their praise.
2 Cor. 7:8. For I see that that epistle made you sorrowful, though but for a time.
2 Cor. 7:9. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful unto repentance; for you were made sorrowful for God's sake,
The sorrow was temporary – for an hour, but the benefit was everlasting. "I rejoice," he says, "not because you were grieved" (for what benefit is your sorrow to me?), "but that you were grieved to repentance." Notice how he attributes the sorrow to repentance, and does not say that he brought them benefit – which would have been fair – but ascribes this matter to their virtue. You were grieved, he says, but you were grieved "for God's sake."
2 Cor. 7:9. So that you suffered no harm at all from us.
Having been reproved, he says, by us, you were grieved according to God, and henceforth you will suffer no harm from us in anything. For all of you, not excluding even the one who had fallen into the most extreme sin and fornication, have improved. A teacher causes harm to a student when he does not reprove the one who is sinning. For if he had been reproved, he would have received benefit.
2 Cor. 7:10. For godly sorrow produces steadfast repentance unto salvation, while worldly sorrow produces death.
He discusses sorrow and shows that sorrow is not always an evil, but only when it is according to the world, that is, over possessions, glory, or the dead. For such sorrow "produces death," assuredly already of the soul, and often of the body as well, for through this many have perished. But if someone voluntarily grieves over sins, he grieves "for God's sake"; for this remedy has been prepared for the case of this one disease alone, for the production of unchanging repentance (for none of those who grieve with it ever repented of doing so) and for the deliverance of man from the death of the soul.
2 Cor. 7:11. For this very thing, that you were made sorry in a godly manner, see what earnestness it produced in you,
Not from the example of others, he says, do I prove the benefit of godly sorrow, but from your own experience. For you not only did not regret that you were grieved, but you became more careful about yourselves.
2 Cor. 7:11. "what excuses,"
Apologies before me; for I have forgiven you, because you repented.
2 Cor. 7:11. what indignation against the guilty one,
Against the one who committed fornication.
2 Cor. 7:11. what fear,
Before me; for you corrected yourselves quickly anyway, because you were frightened.
2 Cor. 7:11. what desire,
"To me." When he spoke of fear, lest they think he was presenting himself as some kind of ruler, he immediately corrected himself by using the word "desire," which is a sign of love, not of authority.
2 Cor. 7:11. what zeal,
To God.
2 Cor. 7:11. what a penalty,
For the laws of God; for you punished those who transgressed them.
2 Cor. 7:11. In everything you have shown yourselves to be pure in this matter.
You, he says, not only did not do anything such as the fornicator did, but you did not even show indulgence toward him. In the former epistle he said: "and you are puffed up" (1 Cor. 5:2), which made them partakers of the transgression; therefore here he says: now you have cleansed yourselves even from this suspicion, and have shown yourselves to be pure from reproach.
2 Cor. 7:12. So then, if I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender, nor for the sake of the offended, but that our care for you might be revealed to you before God.
Lest they should say to him: why then did you rebuke us, if we were clean of transgression? he says: I so respect what was previously written by me and do not repent of rebuking you, that I say: I wrote that so that my love for you and my care for you might be revealed "before God," that is, before God, who sees that this is just. I was afraid lest the infection should spread to you as well. Whom does he mean by "the one who did the wrong" and "the one who suffered the wrong"? The fornicators; because both he and she wronged each other. How then does he say that he wrote not for their sake? That is, although I wrote for their sake as well, it was not exclusively for their sake, but also for your sake, taking care that the whole community not be corrupted. So also when he says: "Does God take care of oxen?" (1 Cor. 9:9), he does not mean that God does not care for them; otherwise why were they created? but rather that God gave the law not primarily for the sake of oxen.
2 Cor. 7:13. Therefore we were comforted
I showed my care for you, and my hopes did not deceive me; therefore, he says, I was greatly comforted.
2 Cor. 7:13. your consolation; and still more were we gladdened by the joy of Titus,
Now to the consolation with which you consoled me, as I said, a great joy was added — the joy of Titus. And this joy and consolation is on your account and for your sake. Therefore he goes on to say.
2 Cor. 7:13. that you all set his spirit at rest.
2 Cor. 7:14. So I was not put to shame, if I boasted anything about you before him,
I, he says, rejoiced at this, that Titus found you to be such as I had described you to him in words. And he himself was comforted when he found you to be such and encountered nothing rude or unpleasant from you. And the fact that Paul boasts about his disciples shows that they were virtuous and that he was loving toward his children. Such should disciples and teachers be even now.
2 Cor. 7:14. But just as we spoke all truth to you, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be true,
As everything I preached to you was true (or, perhaps, he speaks of the praises he expressed about Titus), so also everything I boasted about you turned out to be true.
2 Cor. 7:15. And his heart is exceedingly affectionate toward you.
With these words he praises Titus, so that they too might come to love him, as one bound to him and ardently loving them. Therefore he also said: "his heart," in order to show the strength and fervor of his disposition and sincere love for them.
2 Cor. 7:15. At the remembrance of the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling.
He sets forth the reasons for Titus's such love for them, showing that they themselves gave occasion for such love, and at the same time urging them also to greater love. For you did not simply show love toward him or care for him, but also obedience, receiving him as children receive a father and at the same time as a superior — "with fear" and even "trembling." By this very thing he testifies to their twofold virtue: love, as toward a father, and fear, as toward a superior, so that in them neither did love weaken fear, nor did fear poison love.
2 Cor. 7:16. Therefore I rejoice that in everything I can have confidence in you.
I rejoice not only about Titus, that you honored him, but also that I find you to be such people – not shaming me, but giving me boldness to speak about you openly in every matter and at every time. And in another sense, "I can rely on you," because whether I do something for you or speak to you, you will readily accept it, whether it be necessary to rebuke or praise you for your correction, or to prescribe something difficult to you.