2 Corinthians 6:11

7:1. Such a Ministry demands a suitable response on the part of those on whose behalf it is exercised

11. our mouth is open unto you i.e. we have spoken with perfect frankness on all points, keeping nothing back, because we love you. Chrysostom. Cf. ch. 2 Corinthians 3:12.

our heart is enlarged Rather, hath been enlarged, i.e. in what has been said. Chrysostom quotes Romans 1:11; Romans 1:13; Galatians 4:19; Ephesians 3:14; Philippians 1:7; Philippians 4:1; Colossians 2:1-2; 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8; 1 Thessalonians 2:19 as instances of St Paul's love of the faithful. Cf. also Romans 15:32; 2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:3-4. The expression refers to the expansive effect of love and sympathy in the affections, just as we speak of a man of wide sympathies as -large-hearted." The passages cited from the O. T. by Dean Stanley (1 Kings 4:29; Psalms 119:32; Isaiah 55:5) seem to have a somewhat different signification, that of the enlargement and exaltation consequent on the possession of intellectual, spiritual, or, in the last passage, it may be even materialadvantages. Robertson observes here, "Now what makes this remark wonderful in the Apostle's mouth is that St Paul had received a multitude of provocations from the Corinthians. They had denied the truthfulness of his ministry, charged him with interested motives, sneered at his manner, and held up to scorn the meanness of his appearance. In the face of this his heart expands!"