2 CORINTHIANS - CHAPTER 2
Verses 1-4
v1 I decided not to make another unhappy visit to you. v2 If I make you sad, only you can cheer me again. v3 That is why I wrote that letter to you. I did not want you to make me sad because of my visit. Instead, I wanted you to make me glad. I was sure that you would all share my joy. v4 But when I wrote, my mind was full of deep sorrow and pain. I wrote to you with many tears. I did not want to make you sad. I wanted to tell you how much I loved you.
Commentary
Paul did not change his plans because he was afraid of the Christians at Corinth. He did so to avoid another painful visit. The words mean that he could have come to punish them. He did not want to do that. He was not there to rule over them (perhaps like the false teachers among them). Their trust was strong enough. Jesus was their Lord. Paul was just someone who served them. He wanted to work with them so that they could all share each other’s joy. This would only happen when they all had the same purpose. The letter (verse 3) was the one that Paul sent after his visit. We do not think that we have that letter in the Bible. (But some people think that 2 Corinthians may actually be two letters. They think that 2 Corinthians chapters 10-13 is the ‘severe’ letter. There is no clear proof of this idea.) Although Paul wrote a severe letter he did so with tears and great sorrow. He did not intend to make them sad. He wanted to show how much he loved them. He wanted the best for them.
Verses 5-11
v5 If someone has made somebody sad he has not only done it to me. He has made all of you rather sad. I do not want to be too severe! v6 You have punished him enough. v7 Now you should forgive him and comfort him. Then he will not feel that he has lost all hope. v8 So please tell him again that you love him. v9 I wrote that letter as a test. I wanted to see if you would obey my every command. v10 If you forgive anyone, I forgive that person as well. If there was anything to forgive, I have forgiven it. Christ knows that I have forgiven everything. I did this to help you because I love you. v11 We do not want Satan to succeed. We know very well the way that he works.
Commentary
Paul now writes about the person who has caused all the trouble. This man probably caused trouble when Paul made his unhappy visit. Perhaps this man upset Paul by his words. And this man also upset the whole church. Because of Paul’s severe letter, most of the people had punished this man. Perhaps they made him leave the church for a time. Some people wanted the punishment to be even more severe. Paul said that they had punished the man enough. Now they should forgive him and bring him back into the church. They should show their love for him. If they did not, the man might leave the church completely. Paul said that he wrote the letter as a test. It was to see if they would obey him.
Now that they had forgiven the man, Paul forgave him as well. Paul did not continue to dislike the man because of his actions in the past. Paul forgave the man by Christ because he loved the Christians at Corinth. He wanted the man to come back into the church. He did not want Satan to divide or to destroy the church. The devil’s method is to prevent unity.
Verses 12-13
v12 I arrived in Troas to preach the Good News about Christ. There I found that the Lord had opened a way for the work there. v13 But I could not stay there because I could not find my Christian brother Titus. Therefore, I said goodbye to the people there and I went on to Macedonia.
Commentary
Paul continues the story that he started earlier (chapter 1 verses 15-16). He had arranged to meet Titus at Troas. He wanted to hear what the Christians at Corinth had done as a result of his severe letter. In Troas, people had listened to him and some had become Christians. But Titus was not there, and so he could not give Paul news about the Christians at Corinth. Therefore, Paul could not remain there for long. So, he said goodbye and went on to Macedonia. Paul was willing to show the Christians at Corinth how weak he was. Then they could see that he depended on the power of God.
Verses 14-17
v14 Thank God! He always leads us in Christ’s victory procession. By us, he spreads the knowledge of Christ everywhere like a beautiful smell. v15 We are like the sweet smell of Christ that we are offering up to God. Those whom God is saving smell it. Those who are becoming lost also smell it. v16 To one group, we are like the unpleasant smell of death. To the other group, we are like the pleasant smell of life. We would not be able to do this task without God’s help. v17 Unlike many other people, we do not teach the word of God in order to make money. Instead, we speak in front of God in a sincere way, because God has sent us.
Commentary
Paul uses the description of a Roman victory procession. A Roman general who had won a battle would lead a procession of soldiers and prisoners. They would walk through the streets of the city. The priests carried incense with them as they walked. To the victors, the incense meant that they would live. To the prisoners it meant death. Paul was a prisoner in Christ’s victory procession. He was weak. He was not successful and strong. His opponents said that they were strong.
Christians show that they belong to Christ. This is like the beautiful smell of incense to other people. ‘Knowledge’ here means personal experience. To those who believed it, it smelt of life. To those who rejected it, it smelt of death. Paul wondered who was able to do this work. He said that none of us could do it by ourselves. We all need the help of God. The false teachers only wanted to make money. The false teachers’ good news was not as good as Paul’s good news! Paul was sincere in what he preached. He lived his life ‘in front of God’. He remembered that one day God would be his judge. God sent him when he made him an apostle.
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