2 Corinthians 2 - Introduction

Having shewed the reason why he came not to them, he requireth them to forgive and to comfort that excommunicated person, even as himself also, upon his true repentance, had forgiven him: declaring withal why he departed from Troas to Macedonia, and the happy success which God gave to his preaching in all places.

Anno Domini 58.

THE Apostle's apology for delaying his visit to the Corinthians, which was begun in the preceding chapter, is continued in this. Earnestly desirous of their repentance, he had delayed to come, having determined with himself not to come among them with sorrow, by punishing the guilty, if he could by any means avoid it, 2 Corinthians 2:1.—And therefore, instead of coming to punish them, he had written to them, that he might have joy from their repentance, 2 Corinthians 2:3.—And, to meliorate the severity of his first letter, he told them that he wrote it in the deepest affliction; not to make them sorry, but to shew the greatness of his love to them, 2 Corinthians 2:4.

On receiving the Apostle's former letter, the sincere part of the Corinthian church, which was much more numerous than the faction, immediately excommunicated the incestuous person, in the manner they had been directed. And he appears to have been so affected with his punishment, that in a little time he dismissed his father's wife, and became a sincere penitent. Of these things the Apostle had been informed by Titus, who, I suppose, was present at his excommunication. The Apostle, therefore, in this letter, told the Corinthians, that the punishment which they had inflicted on their faulty brother, having induced him, through grace, to repent of his crime, they were now to forgive him, by taking him again into the church; and even to confirm their love to him, by behaving towards him in a kind and friendly manner, lest Satan should drive him to despair, 2 Corinthians 2:5. Farther, to make the Corinthians sensible how much he loved them, the Apostle described the distress he was in at Troas, when he did not find Titus there, from whom he expected an account of their affairs. For, although he had the prospect of much success at Troas, he was so concerned in his mind that he could not remain there, but went forward to Macedonia, in expectation of meeting Titus. In Macedonia his concern was somewhat alleviated, by the success with which his preaching was attended. For in Macedonia God caused him to ride in triumph with Christ, having enabled him to overcome all opposition, 2 Corinthians 2:13.—The idea of riding in triumph with Christ, naturally led the Apostle to describe the effects of his preaching, both upon believers and unbelievers, by images taken from the triumphal processions of the Greeks and Romans, 2 Corinthians 2:15.—This beautiful passage he concluded with a solemn affirmation that he did not, like some others, corrupt the word of God with foreign mixtures; but always preached it sincerely and disinterestedly, as in the sight of God, 2 Corinthians 2:17.—By thus speaking he plainly insinuated, first, that the false teacher, on whom too many of the Corinthians doated, had corrupted the word of God from worldly motives: and, secondly, that God, in his infinite mercy, had owned and blessed the fidelity with which he preached the doctrines and precepts of the gospel, however contrary they might be to the prejudices and passions of mankind: besides, the disinterestedness of his conduct, which was evident to all with whom he conversed, manifested, to every ingenuous mind, that, in preaching the gospel, he did not propose to acquire either riches, or fame, or worldly power among his disciples.