2 โครินธ์ 7:11 วิจารณ์

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.

For behold, this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort,.... The apostle proceeds to describe godly sorrow by its effects, which are so many evidences of the sincerity and genuineness of it; some of the things mentioned are peculiar to the case of the Corinthians, and others common to evangelical repentance in any: what carefulness it wrought in you; to remove the incestuous person from communion with them, which they were very negligent of before; to sin no more after this sort; to keep up, for the future, a more strict and regular discipline in the church; to perform good works in general, and not to offend God: yea, what clearing of yourselves; not by denying the fact, or lessening, or defending it; but by acknowledging their neglect, praying it might be overlooked, declaring that they were not partakers of the sin; nor did they approve of it, but disliked and abhorred it, and were highly pleased with the method the apostle advised to: yea, what indignation; not against the person of the offender, but against his sin; and not his only but their own too, in not appearing against him, and taking notice of him sooner; and particularly that they should act in such a manner, as to deserve the just rebuke of the apostle: yea, what fear; not of hell and damnation, as in wicked men and devils, who repent not; but of God, and of grieving his ministers; and lest the corruption should spread in the church, as the apostle had suggested, "a little leaven leavens the whole lump"; yea, what vehement desire; of seeing the apostle; of giving him full satisfaction; of behaving in quite another manner for the time to come; and to be kept from evil, and to honour God by a becoming conversation: yea, what zeal; for God and his glory; for restoring the discipline of the church: for the doctrines of the Gospel; for the ordinances of Christ's house; for the supporting the character of the apostle, and other ministers of the word, against the false apostles: yea, what revenge; not of persons in a private way, vengeance belongs to God; but of all disobedience, particularly that of the unhappy criminal among them, which has shown in the punishment inflicted on him by many: in all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter; of the incestuous person: it appeared plainly that they did not consent to, and approve of his sin; and though at first they were unconcerned about it, did not mourn over it as they ought, nor make such haste to deal with the offender as they should, yet having discovered true repentance for their sloth, negligence, and indulgence, they are acquitted, and stand, in the apostle's view of them, as if they had not offended.

One who provokes godly grief in us is our benefactor.

"For behold," he saith, "this self-same thing, that ye were made sorry after a godly sort, what earnest care it wrought in you." 'For not only,' he saith, 'did your sorrow not cast you into that condemning of yourselves, as having acted idly in so doing; but it made you even more careful.' Then he speaks of the certain tokens of that carefulness; "Yea," what "clearing of yourselves," towards me. "Yea, what indignation" against him that had sinned. "Yea, what fear." For so great carefulness and very speedy reformation was the part of men who feared exceedingly. And that he might not seem to be exalting himself, see how quickly he softened it by saying, "Yea, what longing," that towards me. "Yea, what zeal," that on God's behalf. "Yea, what avenging:" for ye also avenged the laws of God that had been outraged. "In every thing ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter." Not only by not having perpetrated, for this was evident before, but also by not consenting unto it. For since he said in the former Epistle, "and ye are puffed up;" he also says here, 'ye have cleared yourselves of this suspicion also; not only by not praising, but also by rebuking and being indignant.'

Someone who repents is troubled by the fear that he might sin again. But a person who knows that he has been deformed by sin longs to reform himself. One who knows that he is being rebuked for his own good begins to experience a zeal for bringing good works to completion.

Not from the example of others, he says, do I prove the benefit of godly sorrow, but from your own experience. For you not only did not regret that you were grieved, but you became more careful about yourselves. Apologies before me; for I have forgiven you, because you repented. Against the one who committed fornication. Before me; for you corrected yourselves quickly anyway, because you were frightened. "To me." When he spoke of fear, lest they think he was presenting himself as some kind of ruler, he immediately corrected himself by using the word "desire," which is a sign of love, not of authority. To God. For the laws of God; for you punished those who transgressed them. You, he says, not only did not do anything such as the fornicator did, but you did not even show indulgence toward him. In the former epistle he said: "and you are puffed up" (1 Cor. 5:2), which made them partakers of the transgression; therefore here he says: now you have cleansed yourselves even from this suspicion, and have shown yourselves to be pure from reproach.

Then (v. 11) he explains this effect from the experience learned from them. As if to say: a truly steadfast salvation, because it is clear from experience that it works in us many things that lead to salvation. He mentions six of these things, one of which is general, namely, carefulness. For when a person is free of care, it is easy for him to become negligent; but when he is sad and fearful, he is careful. Hence he says, For see, i.e., you have experienced in your own case, what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you to avoid evil and to do good: "He has shown you, O man, what is good" (Mic. 6:8); and then, "walk carefully with your God." The other five are special: some pertain to internal feeling and some to external action. Of those that pertain to inward feeling, some are for the removal of sin, and some for the attainment of good. For a true penitent should depart from evil and do good. In regard to the removal of evil he lists three, the first of which is to desist from evil; as to this he says, what eagerness to clear yourselves, against those who induce us to evil: "Resist him, firm in your faith" (1 Pet. 5:9). Or according to a Gloss, to defend me against the false apostle: "Take the whole armor of God" (Eph. 6:13). The second is that a man be indignant against himself for the sins he has committed; as to this he says, what indignation. For indignation at oneself works sorrow according to God: "And my wrath upheld me" (Is. 63:5). The third is that he live in continual fear of the future, so as to be wary; as to this he says, what alarm at falling again, namely, that the same thing might happen in the future: "The fear of God came upon all" (Sir. 25:14, Vulgate). As to the attainment of good he lists two things. The first is desire for what is good; as to this he says, what longing [desire], by which a man is inclined to do good: "The desire of the righteous ends only in good" (Prov. 11:23). Secondly, good rivalry, by which one strives to imitate those who are good; as to this he says, what zeal to imitate me and other good men: "But earnestly desire the higher gifts" (1 Cor. 12:31). Of those which pertain to outward action he mentions two. The first is that they take revenge on themselves for having sinned; and this is useful. For since every evil must be punished either by man or by God, if he [God] does not punish here, it is better that a man punish in himself the evil that he has done than that God do it, because as it says in Heb. (10:31): "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." As to this he says, what punishment, i.e., because you punish sinners and even yourselves: "But I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified" (1 Cor. 9:27); (Is. 26:18). The second is that he refrain from sin altogether; hence he says, At every point you have proved yourselves, namely, with faith leading you, guiltless in the matter, i.e., of being a Christian: "But as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way" (2 Cor. 6:4); "He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him" (Eph. 1:4); "He who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister to me" (Ps. 101:6). Or in the matter about which you were corrected, for the favor you did for the fornicator; but later by punishing and condemning him you showed that you were undefiled in this.

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.

What carefulness it wrought in you - Carefulness of obeying my directions, Co2 7:15; yea, what clearing of yourselves from guilt by inflicting censures on the guilty person, and putting away evil from among you, Co1 5:13; yea, what indignation against him who had dishonored his profession, and defiled the Church; yea, what fear of my displeasure, and the rod which I threatened, Co1 4:21; yea, what vehement desire to rectify what was amiss in this matter, Co2 7:7; yea, what zeal for me; yea, what revenge in punishing the delinquent. See Whitby. In all things, etc. - In the whole of your conduct in this affair since ye have received my letter, ye have approved yourselves to be clear, ἁγνους; not only to be clear of contumacy and obstinate persistence in your former conduct, but to have done all in the compass of your power to rectify the abuses which had crept in among you. The Corinthians were not clear, i.e. innocent or void of blame in the fact, but they were clear of all blame in their endeavors to remove the evil.

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.

Confirmation of Co2 7:10 from the Corinthians' own experience. carefulness--solicitude, literally, "diligence"; opposed to their past negligence in the matter. in you--Greek "for you." yea--not only "carefulness" or diligence, but also "clearing of yourselves," namely, to me by Titus: anxiety to show you disapproved of the deed. indignation--against the offender. fear--of the wrath of God, and of sinning any more [SCLATER and CALVIN]; fear of Paul [GROTIUS], (Co1 4:2, Co1 4:19-21). vehement desire--longing for restoration to Paul's approval [CONYBEARE and HOWSON]. "Fear" is in spite of one's self. "Longing desire" is spontaneous, and implies strong love and an aspiration for correction [CALVIN]. "Desire" for the presence of Paul, as he had given them the hope of it (Co1 4:19; Co1 16:5) [GROTIUS and ESTIUS]. zeal--for right and for God's honor against what is wrong. Or, "for the good of the soul of the offender" [BENGEL]. revenge--Translate, "Exacting of punishment" (Co1 5:2-3). Their "carefulness" was exhibited in the six points just specified: "clearing of themselves," and "indignation" in relation to themselves; "fear" and "vehement desire" in respect to the apostle; "zeal" and "revenge" in respect to the offender [BENGEL]; (compare Co2 7:7). In all--the respects just stated. clear--Greek, "pure," namely, from complicity in the guilty deed. "Approved yourselves," Greek, "commended yourselves." Whatever suspicion of complicity rested on you (Co1 5:2, Co1 5:6) through your former remissness, you have cleared off by your present strenuousness in reprobating the deed.