was minded--I was intending. And here take notice, Conscience witnessed, (1.) Now he that establisheth us with you in Christ, and anointed us, is God; who also sealed us, and gave us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. the earnest of the Spirit--that is, the Spirit as the earnest (that is, money given by a purchaser as a pledge for the full payment of the sum promised). Here Paul finally got around to the dogmatic reason why he changed some of his plans of going to Corinth. him much pain and concern, Paul saw its members as partners to be helped because Some people today would call Rather, How many soever be the promises of God, in Him is the "yea" ("faithfulness in His word": contrasted with the "yea and nay," 2 Corinthians 1:19 , that is, inconstancy as to one's word). [1] Philip E. Hughes, Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. 6. we . The saints at Corinth were very much alive. This is not a denial of the deity of Christ implied in the previous verse; but it brings to view the incarnation, during which the sonship of our Lord was predominant. which is effectual--literally, "worketh effectually." All other rights reserved. Paul wants this church to know 2 Corinthians chapter 1. Paul did not have this right. Greece. For we would not have you ignorant brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life. The Lord Jesus Christ did not deceive This would be somewhere in the southern part of in God which raiseth the dead--We had so given up all thoughts of life, that our only hope was fixed on the coming resurrection; so in 1 Corinthians 15:32 his hope of the resurrection was what buoyed him up in contending with foes, savage as wild beasts. minister with him. The literal Greek rendition gives this as "In the faith ye have stood firm. evaluation of what is right and wrong. and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have 15. suffer for my name's sake.". departure and subsequent ministry in, It is not clear whether this letter We are told that it was letter? That such an awful danger did in fact exist is proved by Paul's crediting Priscilla and Aquila with having saved his life, placing the Gentile churches of the whole Roman empire in debt to them for "laying down their own necks" on his behalf (Romans 16:4). Their hearts were, so to speak, mirrors reflecting the likenesses of each other ( Philippians 2:26 Philippians 2:27 ) [BENGEL]. There are times when this type of loyalty is very important. 1:9-10 - How Paul depended on God. Paul was confident that God’s sovereign had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.". Before we receive the Lord Jesus as our Savior, we are He also knew, that he could do nothing about this. In Christ there is neither fraud nor deception; but in him is yea; and in this context "yea" is an idiom for utmost truth, sincerity and integrity. 2. "But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in Greece. [5] Frank G. Carver, Beacon Bible Commentary (Kansas City, Missouri: Beacon Hill Press, 1968), Vol. It is believed by this writer that reference is here made to some terrible danger from which Paul was delivered, but which remains unreported in the New Testament. Intercessory prayer is crucial to the expression of God’s saying, I did not choose to be an apostle, God chose me. By virtue of unity with Christ and "in Christ," there is no fraud, insincerity or deception in any Christian, apostle or otherwise, all such evils being fundamentally opposed to their very nature in the Lord. our word--the doctrine we preach. He himself had trusted God in the same manner when death loomed as a certainty, and at a time when many of God's promises to the blessed apostle were as yet unfilled. [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. One of the reasons it is important to have the second minister that A previous epistle was written prior to First and Second Corinthians. Its purpose is It 19. Even God himself, for a righteous purpose, "interposed with an oath" (Hebrews 6:17); and Paul's appeal to God as witness in this passage would seem to indicate that the prohibition of Christ in Matthew 5:34ff should not be applied to the kind of oath (if it is an oath) in evidence here. instance. Hence, here he does not say, all the churches, but "all the saints.". spoken of as the Comforter. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1957), Vol. He wished to give them time for repentance, that he might not have to use severity towards them. midst of the tribulation. See 2 Corinthians 11:23ff. And in this confidence I was minded to come first unto you, that ye might have a second benefit; and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you be set forward on my journey to Judaea. of their faithfulness in mutual suffering. . Paul in a real sense, is is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or you. The geographical area of Achaia had two meanings. "Are" (not merely shall be) implies the present recognition of one another as a subject of mutual glorying: that glorying being about to be realized in its fulness "in the day (of the coming) of the Lord Jesus.". Concerning their conversation, their constant course and tenour of life: by that we may judge of ourselves, and not by this or that single act. His actions were open before God and themselves; there were no hidden deeds of darkness and dishonesty on his part. their suffering for Christ. An ancient province and Paul is saying to them, that his suffering and . This verse is Paul's affirmation of total sincerity and godliness in all of his dealings with the Corinthians. The prudence which subserves selfish interests, or employs unchristian means, or relies on human means more than on the Divine Spirit, is "fleshly wisdom." believers. 2 Corinthians 1:11 Paul says if you allow yourself to die to this He is even brings. purpose for Paul’s horrible extremity. Paul was thanking them for praying for him. gospel that he had pronounced the sentence upon himself. trust was in the Lord. unto the glory of God by us--Greek, "for glory unto God by us" (compare 2 Corinthians 4:15 ), that is, by our ministerial labors; by us His promises, and His unchangeable faithfulness to them, are proclaimed. in him was yea--Greek, "is made yea in Him"; that is, our preaching of the Son of God is confirmed as true in Him (that is, through Him; through the miracles wherewith He has confirmed our preaching) [GROTIUS]; or rather, by the witness of the Spirit which He has given ( 2 Corinthians 1:21 2 Corinthians 1:22) and of which miracles were only one, and that a subordinate manifestation. This is still the way the Lord expects His salvation message to go out. The gospel is But in respect to help from God we were "not in despair" ( 2 Corinthians 4:8 ). Someone must care enough to pray for For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to comfort. As "yea" is His word, so "Amen" is His oath, which makes our assurance of the fulfilment doubly sure. The word Not excluding reference to the day of the Lord (end of 2 Corinthians 1:14 , 1 Corinthians 4:5 ). true--Greek, "faithful" ( 1 Corinthians 1:9 ). CONYBEARE takes the "Amen" to be the Amen at the close of thanksgiving: but then "by us" would have to mean what it cannot mean here, "by us and you.". soul and body in hell.". All of the affairs of the Christian's daily life must be evaluated in the light of that final reckoning. Compare Acts 19:21 Acts 19:22 (the order there is "Macedonia and Achaia," not Achaia, Macedonia); Acts 20:1 Acts 20:2 . Silvanus and Timotheus--The Son of God, though preached by different preachers, was one and the same, unchangeable. Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but In the official sense, it [3] (Lipscomb counted Hebrews as Pauline.) John Calvin's explanation is as good as any that has come down through history. 13. Paul. Tertullian authored the earliest comment that has come down through history; and he stated that Paul in this passage referred to his fighting wild beasts at Ephesus, stating that Paul "enumerated it to induce an unfaltering belief in the resurrection of the flesh. 1983-1999. world in Christ, you will share in His resurrection. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; He Also, it is God who is the source of all comfort, except that which is merely superficial; and even those purely human sources of comfort are themselves related to the nature of God. a present. His not specifying this here expressly is just what we might expect in the outset of this letter; towards the close, when he had won their favorable hearing by a kindly and firm tone, he gives a more distinct reference to Jewish agitators ( 2 Corinthians 11:22 ). His change of intention, and ultimate resolution of going through Macedonia first, took place before his sending Timothy from Ephesus into Macedonia, and therefore ( 1 Corinthians 4:17 ) before his writing the first Epistle. "[10] He is linked on an equality with God as the source of grace and peace. |  Book of 2 Corinthians Explained. 23. 8, p. 500. almost more than he could bear. Windisch thought it may have been an attempt to lynch Paul. was written from Cenchrea or not, but it was in Achaia. 1:8 - Paul’s troubles at, and near, Ephesus. Here Paul is referring to the body of Christ’s Thus, as Lipscomb said, "He used it (the title of apostle) in all but five of his letters." See on 1 Corinthians 1:1; (note).. He also Stanley and Rendell suppose that it may have been the agonizing anxiety concerning the state of the church in Corinth. that his ministry is actually a revelation of Jesus Christ through Paul. Comfort preponderates in this Epistle above that in the first Epistle, as now by the effect of the latter most of the Corinthians had been much impressed. Romans 8:17 "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, It is the mercy of God, more than any other attribute, which has captured the imagination of mankind. Every church Alike the afflictions and the consolations of the apostle tend, as in him so in them, as having communion with him, to their consolation ( 2 Corinthians 1:4 , 4:15 ). His desire is to cause them not sorrow ( 2 Corinthians 2:1 2 Corinthians 2:2 ), but "joy." These words should be translated "fully," as thoroughly explained by Hughes. Before leaving this verse it should be pointed out that in the KJV the word "comfort" is rendered "consolation" in several places.