2. Korinther 7:4 Kommentar

This chapter begins with an exhortation to progressive holiness and a due regard to the ministers of the gospel (Co2 7:1-4). Then the apostle returns from a long digression to speak further of the affair concerning the incestuous person, and tells them what comfort he received in his distress about that matter, upon his meeting with Titus (Co2 7:5-7), and how re rejoiced in their repentance, with the evidences thereof (Co2 7:8-11). And, lastly, he concludes with endeavouring to comfort the Corinthians, upon whom his admonitions had had so good an effect (Co2 7:12-16).

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 7 This chapter begins with an inference deduced, from what is said in the latter part of the foregoing chapter, engaging to holiness of heart and life, in opposition to filthiness of flesh and spirit, Co2 7:1 and the apostle, in order to prevail upon the Corinthians kindly to receive his exhortations, observes his own conduct, and that of his fellow ministers towards them; as that they had done them no injury by the advice they had given them, nor had they corrupted them by unsound doctrine, or had coveted their worldly substance, Co2 7:2 not that by so saying he would insinuate as if they had been guilty of injury, corruption, and covetousness; it was far from his thoughts to suggest anything of that kind concerning them, for whom he had so great an affection, as never to separate from them, but living and dying to continue the same regards unto them, Co2 7:3 and which he expresses, and had shown everywhere, by the freedom of speech he had used concerning them, and his boasting of them, and the joy and comfort he had in the midst of his troubles, by the good news he had received of them, Co2 7:4, which he had in the following manner; for though when in Macedonia he had no rest, partly through outward troubles, and partly through inward fears, Co2 7:5 yet meeting with Titus, who had been with them, and had brought an account of their state, it was a means God made use of for the comfort of him, Co2 7:6 and it was not merely the sight of Titus that yielded him this consolation, but the comfortable reception he had met with at Corinth; and also the good effect the apostle's letter written to them had upon them, as related by Titus; what a desire they had to see him, what grief that they should sin, and by it distress him, and what a fervent affection they had for him Co2 7:7 for which reason he did not repent of the letter he sent them, though it did produce sorrow in them, since that was of the right kind, and was but for a time, Co2 7:8 yea, he was so far from it, that he was glad, not merely on account of their sorrow, but because their sorrow was a godly one, and issued in repentance; and so they were no losers, but gainers by the epistle, it producing such good effects, Co2 7:9 which leads him to distinguish between a true right godly sorrow, and a worldly one, and that by their consequences; repentance and salvation following upon the one, and death upon the other, Co2 7:10 the fruits and evidences of which godly and true repentance he makes mention of in seven particulars, by which it appeared that their sorrow and repentance were sincere and genuine, Co2 7:11 when the apostle proceeds to observe to them the end he had in view in writing to them, upon the account of the incestuous person, in which he had used great plainness and faithfulness; and this was not merely on account of him that offended, nor only on account of the person injured by him, but chiefly to testify his care of, and concern for their welfare, as a church of Christ, Co2 7:12 and inasmuch as though they had been grieved, yet were now comforted, it added to the consolation of the apostle and his companions, and the more delighted they were, when they understood what a reception Titus had among them, what reverence he was had in, what respect was shown him, and care was taken of him, Co2 7:13 and the rather, seeing the apostle had boasted of the liberality, generosity, and affectionate regard of the Corinthians to the ministers of the Gospel, Titus found it to be all true what he had said; so that he had no reason to be ashamed, as he must have been, had they behaved otherwise, Co2 7:14 and still it gave him further pleasure, that by their behaviour to Titus, they had gained his heart, and increased his affection towards them; which he could not but express, whenever he called to mind, or made mention of the great respect, veneration, and obedience, they yielded to him, Co2 7:15 and indeed it was not only in this instance, but in all others, the apostle had confidence concerning them, which heightened his joy and pleasure in them, Co2 7:16.

Great is my boldness of speech towards you,.... Or "liberty of speaking", which I use with you; I very freely, and without any disguise, open my mind to you; I faithfully tell you your faults; I am free in my exhortations and counsels to you, as in the case of the incestuous person, and in other instances, which is a sign of true friendship; for had I any suspicion of you, or not cordial affection for you, I should have been more reserved, more upon my guard, and have spoke and wrote with more caution: besides, great is my glorying, or "boasting of you"; of your faith in Christ, your love to the people of God, respect to the ministers of the Gospel, obedience to us, and very great liberality to the poor saints, of which the apostle frequently boasts in this epistle: now as speaking freely to them when present with them, or in writing to them, so glorying in them, and speaking well of them when absent, clearly showed what an opinion he had of them, and what true hearty respect he had for them: I am filled with comfort, says he; not only with divine and spiritual consolations from God, but with the news Titus brought of the state of this church, of the good effect the apostle's reproof and advice had both upon them, and the offender among them, and of their tender and affectionate regard to him: this filled him brimful of comfort, yea, adds he, I am exceeding joyful; I abound, I over abound in joy; such is the joy that possesses my soul, at the tidings brought me, that it superabounds all the sorrow and anguish of spirit, out of which I wrote unto you, occasioned by the unhappy affair among you: yea, it makes me inexpressibly joyful in all our tribulation; which is not small we meet with, wherever we go, in preaching the Gospel of Christ.

Let the earth also cause compassion to spring up to its inhabitants; for I am filled with comfort; I am exceeding joyful since I have seen Thee, the Saviour of men.

"Great is my boldness of speech towards you." 'Therefore I venture upon such things,' he says, 'not to condemn you by what I say, but out of my great boldness of speech,' which also farther signifying, he said, "Great is my glorying on your behalf." 'For think not indeed,' he saith, 'that because I thus speak, I speak as though I had condemned you altogether; (for I am exceedingly proud of, and glory in, you;) but both out of tender concern and a desire that you should make greater increase unto virtue.' And so he said to the Hebrews also after much rebuke; "But we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak: and we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence to the fullness of hope even to the end." (Hebrews 6:9, 11) So indeed here also, "Great is my glorying on your behalf." 'We glory to others of you,' he says. Seest thou what genuine comfort he has given? 'And,' he saith, 'I do not simply glory, but also, greatly.' Accordingly he added these words; "I am filled with comfort." What comfort? 'That coming from you; because that ye, having been reformed, comforted me by your conduct.' This is the test of one that loveth, both to complain of not being loved and to fear lest he should inflict pain by complaining immoderately. Therefore he says, "I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy." 'But these expressions,' saith one, 'seem to contradict the former.' They do not do so, however, but are even exceedingly in harmony with them. For these procure for the former a favorable reception; and the praise which they convey makes the benefit of those rebukes more genuine, by quietly abstracting what was painful in them. Wherefore he uses these expressions, but with great genuineness and earnestness. For he did not say, 'I am filled with joy;' but, "I abound;" or rather, not "abound" either, but "super-abound;" in this way also again showing his yearning, that even though he be so loved as to rejoice and exult, he does not yet think himself loved as he ought to be loved, nor to have received full payment; so insatiable was he out of his exceeding love of them. For the joy it brings to be loved in any degree by those one passionately loves, is great by reason of our loving them exceedingly. So that this again was a proof of his affection. And of the comfort indeed, he saith, 'I am filled;' 'I have received what was owing to me;' but of the joy, "I superabound;" that is, 'I was desponding about you; but ye have sufficiently excused yourselves and supplied comfort: for ye have not only removed the ground of my sorrow, but have even increased joy.' Then showing its greatness, he not only declares it by saying, 'I superabound in joy," but also by adding, "in all our affliction." 'For so great was the delight arising to us on your account that it was not even dimmed by so great tribulation, but through the excess of its own greatness it overcame the sorrows that had hold of us, and suffered us not to feel the sense of them.'

Paul is confident because of the way the Corinthians responded to his reproof in the first letter. The fact that they did not take it badly has given him the confidence to admonish them again. He also says that he has been consoled by this to such an extent that in spite of all his affliction he is overflowing with joy. Seeing that there is hope for the people on whose behalf he is enduring hardships, he is rejoicing in spite of his tribulations, being certain that he will please God for the fact that they have received salvation.

It would seem that he offended them by saying "you are restricted in your own hearts" and "make room for us." Therefore now he both justifies himself and heals them, saying: I said this not in order to condemn you, but out of my great boldness toward you and out of a desire to urge you to virtue. For that I do not condemn you is evident from the fact that I boast of you before others. Having corrected yourselves, he says, in that for which I censured you in my former epistle, you filled me with comfort, and not only comforted me, that is, freed me from sorrow, but also abundantly filled me with joy. The abundance of joy he expresses with the word "I exceedingly abound." This joy, he says, was such that in all our affliction, however great it was, it prevailed over and extinguished the affliction. This would seem to contradict what was said about them a little earlier, but in reality it does not contradict it. For both are characteristic of one who loves: the former as one who reproves, and the latter as one who encourages, because reproofs come not from hostility but from intense love.

Having given an admonition derived from what went before, the Apostle now gives his commendation. In regard to this he does two things: first, he commends them, secondly, he explains it (v. 5). He commends them by showing his love, which springs from the good works the Corinthians did. For in the hearts of those who love there are four feelings (affectus) that usually arise from the good works, which the lovers accomplish. First, the feeling of confidence. Hence, he says, I have great confidence in you, inasmuch as I am confident that, having begun well, you will always get better. Consequently, from the good things I have heard about you I hope for greater things to come: "And I am sure that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil. 1:6); "Though we speak thus, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things that belong to salvation" (Heb. 6:9). And this confidence is good and salutary: "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward" (Heb. 10:35). Secondly, from this confidence he conceives a feeling of glory; for as a result of loving a friend's good as his own, a person glories in that good as he glories in his own. And this is especially true here, because he is the cause of their goods, as a teacher is the cause of his disciple's doctrine. Hence he says, I have great pride in you: "The glory of a father is a wise son" (Prov. 10:1, Aquinas Latin). Then as a result of these two feelings he conceives a feeling of consolation, when the one who rejoices and glories in his own goods or in those of his friend has a remedy against sadness. This consolation is a cure for sadness; and according to the Philosopher every delight weakens or entirely destroys sadness. If the delight is contrary to the sadness, it totally swallows up the sadness; but if it is not contrary, it weakens or diminishes it. This is why when a person is sad, his sadness is lessened whenever something joyful is announced to him. Therefore, because he heard joyful things about the Corinthians, he says, I am filled with comfort, having heard of your amendment: "For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too" (2 Cor. 1:5); "So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind" (Phil. 2:1-2). Fourthly, there finally arises a feeling of exuberant joy, for although sadness is lessened by certain delights, it is not entirely displaced unless there is great joy. But although the Apostle had endured many tribulations, yet because he found great joy in the good actions of the Corinthians, not only was sadness entirely absorbed, but his joy superabounds. Hence he says, With all our affliction, I am overjoyed, i.e., my joy overcomes every tribulation that was in my soul: "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming?" (1 Th. 2:19); "Be patient in tribulation" (Rom. 12:12).

The apostle's inference from the preceding exhortation, Co2 7:1. He presses them to receive him with affection, because of his great love towards them, Co2 7:2-4. He tells them what distress he felt on their account in Macedonia, till he had met with Titus, and heard of their prosperity, Co2 7:6-7. He rejoices that his first epistle was made the means of their reformation, Co2 7:8, Co2 7:9. States how they were affected by his letter, and the process of their reformation, Co2 7:10, Co2 7:11. Shows why he had written to them, Co2 7:12. Rejoices that his boasting of them to Titus is found to be a truth; and takes occasion to mention the great affection of Titus for them, and his own confidence in them, Co2 7:13-16.

Great is my boldness of speech - He seems to refer to the manner in which he spoke of them to others. Great is my glorying of you - They had probably been very loving and affectionate previously to the time in which they were perverted by their false apostle. He therefore had boasted of them in all the Churches. I am filled with comfort - My affection for you has still the most powerful ascendancy in my soul. Here we may see the affection of the most tender father to his children. I am exceeding joyful - Ὑπερπερισσευομαι· I superabound in joy; I have a joy beyond expression. Ὑπερπερισσευω is an extremely rare verb. I have not met with it in any Greek author; and it occurs no where in the New Testament but here and in Rom 5:20. In all our tribulation - Perhaps επι here should be rendered under instead of in, as it signifies, Mar 2:26; Luk 3:2; Act 11:28. Under all our tribulations, I feel inexpressible joy on your account.

SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16) cleanse ourselves--This is the conclusion of the exhortation (Co2 6:1, Co2 6:14; Jo1 3:3; Rev 22:11). filthiness--"the unclean thing" (Co2 6:17). of the flesh--for instance, fornication, prevalent at Corinth (Co1 6:15-18). and spirit--for instance, idolatry, direct or indirect (Co1 6:9; Co1 8:1, Co1 8:7; Co1 10:7, Co1 10:21-22). The spirit (Psa 32:2) receives pollution through the flesh, the instrument of uncleanness. perfecting holiness--The cleansing away impurity is a positive step towards holiness (Co2 6:17). It is not enough to begin; the end crowns the work (Gal 3:3; Gal 5:7; Phi 1:6). fear of God--often conjoined with the consideration of the most glorious promises (Co2 5:11; Heb 4:1). Privilege and promise go hand in hand.

boldness of speech--(compare Co2 6:11). glorying of you--Not only do I speak with unreserved openness to you, but I glory (boast) greatly to others in your behalf, in speaking of you. filled with comfort--at the report of Titus (Co2 7:6-7, Co2 7:9, Co2 7:13; Co2 1:4). exceeding joyful--Greek, I overabound with joy (Co2 7:7, Co2 7:9, Co2 7:16). our tribulation--described in Co2 7:5; also in Co2 4:7-8; Co2 6:4-5.