2 Corinthians 1:11

‘You also helping together on our behalf by your supplication, that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf.'

Having risen to the heights Paul now returns to earth, and commends ‘many' who had contributed to his deliverance from death. As a result of their supplication he and his fellow-workers had been given the gracious gift (charisma), in context of having their lives preserved, with the result that many could give thanks on their behalf. The use of ‘many' may have reference to the fact that he was still aware that he could not say ‘all', that he was aware of the minority in Corinth who would not have prayed for him, and would certainly not give thanks for his deliverance. Or it may simply indicate that he knew that ‘many' were praying for him, and would thus have cause for thanksgiving.

The fact that this appears to look back to this gift as having in mind just one event would support our view of 2 Corinthians 1:10, for otherwise we might have expected Paul to apply their prayers more widely to past, present and future. It is, of course, possible that he sees ‘the gift' as being continual. This would then indicate that he sees his continual deliverance from death as a ‘gift of grace' and as due to their constant prayers, a gift for which also they will be able continually to give thanks. But if he saw his certainty of not dying the while as a gift of grace, would he then elsewhere put such stress on how he constantly faced death? It would destroy his whole argument. Its impact would be lost. We, and they, would argue that it was not consistent.

Thus on balance, and contrary to the majority view, we would see 2 Corinthians 1:10 as being soteriological because, to summarise;

1) It arises directly out of, and expands on, his reference to ‘God Who raises the dead'. To Paul that signalled victory over ‘death' as the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26; 1 Corinthians 15:54) not just over earthly death. Thus God is seen as the One Who has delivered us from ‘so great a death', by already giving resurrection life (2 Corinthians 2:16; 2Co 3:6; 2 Corinthians 4:10; Romans 6:4; Romans 6:11; Romans 6:13; Ephesians 2:1; Galatians 2:20).

2) The phrase ‘so great a death' suggests that he is speaking of more than just dying, in the light of the fact that to Paul it was ‘death' that was the consequence of sin (Romans 1:32; Romans 5:10; Romans 6:23 compare 2 Timothy 1:10). As mentioned above, to Paul the whole future of the ‘unsaved' world was that of ‘death', (2Co 2:16; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:22) which as far as the Christian was concerned would finally be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). Thus there is good reason for thinking that deliverance from ‘so great a death' must rather have this in mind. As continually in his mind was the idea that ‘death' was the final enemy from which all men needed deliverance, it is difficult to think of him viewing any example of physical death as ‘so great a death'. He might die but he did not have to face ‘so great a death'.

3) The repetition of future deliverance makes one of the references redundant if it is simply referring to deliverance from untimely death. It is in fact in context unnecessary (as copyists noticed). ‘He will deliver us' covers the future, why then refer to it again? If however he sees deliverance from ‘death' as referring to death as the wages of sin from which he will be continually delivered (Romans 7:24), followed by a great deliverance from the last enemy ‘death' at the end as described in 1 Corinthians 15, it all falls into place.

4) It arises in a context where salvation (2 Corinthians 1:6), eschatalogical comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3) and the day of our Lord Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:14) are constantly there in the background.

5) It is similar to and expands on the ‘unexpected' introduction of the idea of ‘salvation' in 2 Corinthians 1:6.

6) It parallels the underlying idea behind ‘comfort' as referring to God's final purposes in 2 Corinthians 1:3 in bringing salvation and leads on into the day of our Lord Jesus in 2 Corinthians 1:14.

7) In it he speaks of the ‘setting of his hope', an idea which constantly has in mind the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8; compare 2 Thessalonians 2:16; Ephesians 1:18), the hope of the second coming of Christ (Titus 2:13 compare 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 1 Thessalonians 2:19) and the everlasting hope, the hope of eternal life (Titus 1:2; Titus 3:7 compare 1 Thessalonians 4:13; Colossians 1:5). In the light of this could Paul have said that he had ‘set his hope' on merely not dying?

8) It gives greater significance to the reference to ‘the day of our Lord Jesus' in 2 Corinthians 1:14 as being the future deliverance he has spoken of. That day is his hope (1 Thessalonians 2:19; compare 2 Corinthians 1:3). Our hope is that He will yet deliver us, and now here it is.

9) To so dwell on mere death to such an extent is not consonant with Paul's view of his death elsewhere. Dying did not worry him, indeed he looked forward to it (2 Corinthians 5:6; Philippians 1:21). It was what death signified that was his prime concern. So the threat of death brought home to him the fact of deliverance from all that death meant, the deliverance from the greater death. Consider the total lack of emphasis on a physical death to be escaped from in 2 Corinthians 4:8, and compare 2 Corinthians 3:6.

10) It is supported by the fact that ‘the gift bestowed on us' (2 Corinthians 1:11) seems to refer to one situation, not to a continuing chain of fear.

11) It brings out the full meaning of ‘God Who raises the dead' rather than the phrase being almost trivialised as a metaphor. Could the one who wrote 1 Corinthians 15 have so trivialised the idea of God raising the dead? After such a phrase we would expect Paul to expand on it triumphantly, just as he regularly expands in flights of exultation after the expression of similar ideas elsewhere.

12) We can compare the idea here with 2 Corinthians 4:10 where their ‘dying' and their being ‘delivered up to death' (as in 2 Corinthians 1:8) results in life being manifested in their mortal bodies as they look forward to the final resurrection. Even in their dying they are delivered from death's grip, from the greater death. Compare again 2Co 3:6; 2 Corinthians 7:10.

But why then did he not use the verb ‘save' instead of ‘deliver'? The answer is because in context he is thinking of salvation in terms of deliverance from the enemies consisting of final death and Satan (1 Corinthians 15:25; Hebrews 2:14), not salvation from sin. Compare again Col 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:10.

Thus we may see 2 Corinthians 1:10 as a triumphant expansion on the thought of ‘God Who raises the dead'.