2 Corinthians 7

2 Corinthians 7:1

7:1 This verse is closely linked with what has gone before. It does not begin a new paragraph but closes the paragraph that began with 2Co_6:14. The promises referred to in this verse are those quoted in verses 17 and 18 of the previous chapter. I will receive you … will be a Father to you … you shall be My sons and daughters. In view of these marvelous promises of God, we should cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Defilement of the flesh includes all forms of physical impurity, whereas filthiness of the spirit covers one’s inward life, motives, and thoughts. But God not only gives the negative side, there is also the positive. Perfecting holiness in the fear of God. We are not only to put aside that which is defiling, but we are to become increasingly conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ in our daily lives. This verse does not suggest that it is ever possible to become perfectly holy while still here on earth. Practical sanctification is a process that goes on through our lifetime. We grow in likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ until the day when we see Him face to face, and then we shall be like Him throughout all eternity.

It is as we have a reverential fear or awe of God that we have a desire in our hearts to become holy. May we all learn to say with the godly McCheyne, Lord, make me as holy as it is possible for a man to be on this side of heaven.

2 Corinthians 7:2

M. Paul’s Joy at the Good News from Corinth (7:2-16) 7:2 Open your hearts to us. There was no reason why the Corinthians should not do this, Paul goes on to say, because he had wronged no one, he had corrupted no one, he had cheated no one. Whatever his critics might be saying against him, the Apostle Paul had not injured anyone, he had not taken advantage of anyone financially. 7:3 Nothing Paul has said or is saying is intended to condemn the Corinthians in any way. He had repeatedly assured them that his deep affection for them would continue in life and in death. 7:4 Because he felt so intimately attached to the saints at Corinth, the apostle felt at liberty to use great boldness of speech when addressing them directly. But if his frankness to them was great, so also was his boasting about them in the presence of others. Thus they should not misinterpret his bluntness as indicating any lack of love; rather they should realize that he was truly proud of them and that he spoke highly of them wherever he went. Probably the particular aspect of their Christian life which evoked sincere commendation from Paul was their willing attitude in connection with the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. The apostle will come to that subject directly, but here he only makes a passing allusion to it. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation. These expressions are explained in the verses to follow. Why was Paul so joyful in spite of all his tribulation? The answer is that Titus brought him a good report concerning the Corinthians, and this proved to be a source of tremendous cheer and encouragement to him. 7:5 We have previously mentioned how Paul left Ephesus and journeyed to Troas in search of Titus. Not finding him there, he crossed over to Macedonia. Now he explains that even his arrival in Macedonia did not give him the rest he sought. He was still disquieted, still troubled, still persecuted. On the outside, the enemy was hammering away mercilessly, while on the inside there were fears and anxietiesconnected, no doubt, with the fact that he had not yet made contact with Titus. 7:6 Then God stepped in and comforted Paul by the coming of Titus. At this time the apostle experienced the truth of Pro_27:17, As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Picture the joyful meeting between these two devoted servants of Christ, Paul’s questions tumbling out one on top of the other, and Titus trying to answer them as quickly as possible! (See also Pro_25:25.) 7:7 But it was not only the joyful reunion with his friend that made Paul so glad; rather it was the report of how comforted Titus had been with the response of the Corinthians to Paul’s letter. It was good news to hear that the Corinthians longed to see the Apostle Paul. This was in spite of the determined efforts on the part of the false teachers to alienate the affections of the saints from Paul. Not only were they anxious to see him, but they evidenced real mourning. This mourning may have been over the careless attitude they had taken by tolerating sin in the assembly, or it may have been over the distress and anxiety they had caused the apostle. In addition to this mourning, Titus reported their genuine regard for Paul and their earnest desire to please him. Thus the apostle’s rejoicing was not just in the coming of Titus, but in these evidences of the fact that the Corinthians had been obedient to Paul’s instructions and that they still felt kindly toward him. 7:8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.The letter Paul refers to may be what we know as 1 Corinthians, or it may be a second letter, now lost to us, which dealt with the saints rather severely. With regard to Paul’s regret over having written the letter, this point should be made clear. Assuming he refers to 1 Corinthians, it does not at all affect the subject of inspiration. The things which the apostle wrote were the very commandments of the Lord; yet Paul himself was still a man, prone to the discouragements and anxieties of other men. Williams comments: The distinction between the writer and inspiration appears in verse 8. He knew that his first letter was inspired. Its words were the commandments of the Lord, but as a feeble, anxious, and affectionate man, he trembled lest the effect of the communications should estrange the Corinthians from him, and should cause them pain. This is an interesting instance of the difference between the individuality of the Prophet and the message of the Holy Spirit given to him. To summarize, Paul is saying this: When the Corinthians first read his letter, it came as a rebuke to them, and they were pained. After sending the letter, the apostle anticipated their reaction to it, and this made him sorry. Not that he was conscious of having done any wrong; that is not the thought here at all. Rather he was sorry that in carrying out his work for the Lord, it was necessary that others should at times be cast into unhappiness temporarily in order that God’s purposes might be worked out in their lives. In the latter part of verse 8, Paul emphasizes that though the letter had made them sorry, yet it was only for a while. The first effect of the letter was to cause pain. But the sorrow did not last. The whole process which the apostle is describing here may be likened to the work of a surgeon. In order for him to remove a dangerously infected part from the human body, it is necessary for him to cut deep into the flesh. He does not rejoice in thus causing pain to the patient, though he knows it must be done if the patient is to regain his health. Especially if the patient is a close friend, the surgeon is keenly aware of the suffering that will be necessary. But he realizes that this suffering is only temporary, and he is willing that it should be so in order that the final outcome might be favorable. 7:9 Paul did not rejoice in having inflicted pain on the Corinthians but that their temporary sorrow led them to the place of repentance. In other words, their sorrow led them to a change of mind resulting in a change of life. Repentance, says Hodge, is not merely a change of purpose, but includes a change of heart which leads to a turning from sin with grief and hatred thereof unto God.The sorrow of the Corinthians was according to the will of God; it was the kind of sorrow that God likes to see. Because their sorrow and repentance were of a genuine, godly nature, they suffered no permanent ill effects from the rebuke delivered to them by the Apostle Paul. 7:10 This verse contrasts godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world. Godly sorrow means grief which comes into a man’s life after he has committed a sin and which leads to his repentance. He realizes that God is speaking to him, and so he takes sides with God against himself and against his sin. When Paul says that godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, he is not necessarily thinking of the salvation of the soul (although that could be true also). After all, the Corinthians were already saved. But here salvation is used to describe deliverance from any type of sin, bondage, or affliction in a person’s life. There is a question whether the expression not to be regretted refers to repentance or salvation. Since it is equally true that no one ever regrets repentance or salvation, we can leave the question open. The sorrow of the world is not true repentance but mere remorse. It produces bitterness, hardness, despair, and eventually death. It is illustrated in the life of Judas. He was not sorry for the results which his sin brought to the Lord Jesus, but only remorseful because of the terrible harvest which he himself reaped from it. 7:11 The apostle points to the experience of the Corinthians as an example of what he said in the first part of verse 10. The very thing which he had spoken concerning godly sorrow was manifest in their own lives. We would say today, As evidence of this very fact that you sorrowed in a godly manner. Then he goes on to state various results of their godly sorrow. First of all, it produced diligence, or earnest care, in them. If this passage refers to the case of discipline described in the First Epistle, then this expression means that although at first they had been indifferent, they subsequently became very concerned about the whole matter. Secondly he says, what clearing of yourselves. This does not mean that they tried to justify or excuse themselves, but rather that by taking resolute action, they tried to clear themselves of any further guilt or blame in the matter. Their change in attitude led to this change in action. What indignation may refer to their attitude toward the sinner because of the reproach he brought on the name of Christ. But more probably it refers to their attitude toward themselves for ever having allowed such a thing to go on for so long without taking action on it. What fear doubtless means they acted in the fear of the Lord, but it may also include the thought that they feared a visit from the apostle, if he had to come with a rod. What vehement desire literally means what longing. Most commentators agree that this refers to a genuine longing which had been awakened in their souls for a visit from Paul. However, it could also mean a strong desire to see the wrong righted and the evil corrected. What zeal has been variously explained as meaning zeal for the glory of God, for the restoration of the sinner, for their own cleansing from defilement in the matter, or for taking sides with the apostle. What vindication means what punishment or what avenging. The thought simply is that they took corrective action against the offender in the assembly. They were determined that sin must be punished. Paul then adds: In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in the matter. Of course, we are not to understand by this that they were never to blame, but simply that they had done everything they could to take the proper action and to act as they should have acted in the first place. 7:12 There are four major problems in this verse. First, which letter does Paul refer to in this expression, I wrote to you? Second, who is the man who had done the wrong? Third, who is the man who suffered wrong? Finally, should the last part of the verse be translated our care for you, or your care for us? The letter could be the one we know as 1 Corinthians, or it could be a subsequent letter which was not preserved for us. The wrongdoer could be the incestuous man of 1 Corinthians 5, or it could be some rebel in the church. If Paul is speaking of the incestuous man, then the injured person was the man’s own father. On the other hand, if the wrongdoer was a rebel, then the injured person was Paul himself or some unidentified victim. In the KJV and NKJV, the latter part of the verse reads: but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you. But most modern versions are similar to the NASB: that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God.7:13 Because his letter had had the desired effect, Paul was comforted. The Corinthians had repented and taken sides with him. In addition, he was encouraged by the enthusiasm Titus showed concerning the saints; he had been refreshed by his contact with them. 7:14 Apparently before the apostle sent Titus to Corinth, he had spoken to him glowingly about the believers there. Now he is saying his boasting did not prove to be untrue. All that he had said about the Corinthians was verified by the experience of Titus in their midst. Just as everything the apostle had ever said to the Corinthians was true, so his boasting to Titus had been found true also. 7:15 Obviously Titus did not know what kind of a reception he would get when he reached southern Greece. Perhaps he had anticipated the worst. But when he did arrive, the Corinthians gave him a cordial welcome, and not only so, they endeared themselves to him all the more by being obedient to the instructions which he carried from the Apostle Paul. When the apostle says that they received Titus with fear and trembling, he does not mean abject terror or cowardly fear, but rather a sense of reverence before the Lord in the matter and a scrupulous desire to please. 7:16 When Paul says he had confidence in the saints in everything, we must not make his words say more than he intended. They certainly do not mean that he considered the Corinthians to be beyond the possibility of sin or failure. But rather they mean that the confidence which he had placed in them, and of which he had boasted to Titus, had not been in vain. They had proved themselves worthy of his trust. It doubtless includes the idea also that since they had taken a proper attitude in reference to the matter discussed in the First Epistle, he feels justified in having full confidence in them. This verse completes the first section of 2 Corinthians, a section which, as we have seen, has been devoted to a description of the apostle’s ministry and a determined effort on Paul’s part to strengthen the bonds which existed between the Corinthians and himself. The next two chapters handle the grace of giving.