TEXT. 17 When I, therefore, was thus minded, did I use lightness? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, yea, and nay, nay y? 18 But, as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you, by us, even by me, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, was but in him was yea. not yea and nay; 20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God, by us. 21 Now he, which establisheth us with you, in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God: 22 Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit, in our hearts. PARAPHRASE. turn to you again, and, by you, be brought on in 17 my way to Judea. If this fell not out so, as I purposed, am I, therefore, to be condemned of fickleness? Or am I to be thought an uncertain man, that talks forwards and backwards, one that has no regard to his word, any farther than may suit his 18 carnal interest? But God is my witness, that what you have heard from me, has not been uncertain, 19 deceitful, or variable. For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you, by me, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, was not sometimes one thing and sometimes another; but has been shown to be uniformly one and the same, in the counsel, 20 or revelation of God. (For the promises of God do all consent, and stand firm, in him) to the glory of 21 God, by my preaching. Now it is God, who esta blishes me with you, for the preaching of the gos22 pel, who has anointed *, And also sealed † me, and given me the earnest of his Spirit, in my heart. NOTES. 21" Anointed," i. e. set apart to be an apostle, by an extraordinary call. Priests and prophets were set apart, by anointing, as well as kings. 22 "Sealed," i. e. by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost; which are an evidence of the truths he brings from God, as a seal is of a letter. + "Earnest" of eternal life; for of that the Spirit is mentioned, as a pledge, in more places than one, vid. 2 Cor. v. 5; Eph. i. 13, 14. All these are arguments to satisfy the corinthians, that St. Paul was not, nor could be, a shuffling man, that minded not what he said, but as it served his turn. The reasoning of St. Paul, ver. 18-22, whereby he would convince the corinthians, that he was not a fickle, unsteady man, that says or unsays, as may suit his humour or interest, being a little obscure, by reason of the shortness TEXT. 23 Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth. 24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for, by faith, ye stand." II. 1 But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. PARAPHRASE. 23 Moreover, I call God to witness, and may I die if it is not so, that it was to spare you, that I came not 24 yet to Corinth. Not that I pretend to such a dominion over your faith, as to require you to believe what I have taught you, without coming to you, when I am expected there, to maintain and make it good; for it is by that faith you stand: but I forbore to come, as one concerned to preserve and help forward your joy, which I am tender of, and therefore declined coming to you, whilst I thought you in an estate, that would require severity from me, that II. 1. would trouble you*. I purposed in myself, it is true, to come to you again, but I resolved too, it should NOTES. of his style here, which bas left many things to be supplied by the reader, to connect the parts of the argumentation, and make the deduction clear; I hope I shall be pardoned, if I endeavour to set it in its clear light, for the sake of ordinary readers. "God hath set me apart, to the ministry of the gospel, by an extraordinary "call; has attested my mission, by the miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost, and "given me the earnest of eternal life, in my heart, by his Spirit; and hath "confirmed me, amongst you, in preaching the gospel, which is all uniform, " and of a piece, as I have preached it to you, without tripping in the least: "and there, to the glory of God, have shown that all the promises concur, and are unalterably certain in Christ. I, therefore, having never faultered in any thing I have said to you, and having all these attestations, of being under "the special direction and guidance of God himself, who is unalterably true, "cannot be suspected of dealing doubly with you, in any thing, relating to my ministry." 66 66 66 24* It is plain, St. Paul's doctrine had been opposed by some of them at Corinth, vid. 1 Cor. xv. 12. His apostleship questioned, 1 Cor. ix. 1, 2, 2 Cor. xiii. 3. He himself triumphed over, as if he durst not come, 1 Cor. iv. 18, they saying "his letters were weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence weak, and his speech contemptible;" 2 Cor. x. 10. This being the state his reputation was then in, at Corinth, and he having promised to come to them, 1 Cor. xvi. 5, he could not but think it necessary to excuse his failing them, by reasons, that should be both convincing and kind; such as are contained in this verse, in the sense given of it. TEXT. 2 For if I make you sorry, who is he, then, that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? 3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them, of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. 4 For, out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote unto you with many tears; not that you should be grieved, but that ye might know the love, which I have more abundantly unto you. 5 But, if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part; that I may not overcharge you all. PARAPHRASE. 2 be, without bringing sorrow with me *. For if I grieve you, who is there, when I am with you, to comfort me, but those very persons, whom I have dis3 composed with grief? And this very thing †, which made you sad, I writ to you, not coming myself; on purpose that, when I came, I might not have sorrow from those, from whom I ought to receive comfort: having this belief and confidence in you all, that you, all of you, make my joy and satisfaction so much your own, that you would remove all cause of disturbance, 4 before I came. For I writ unto you with great sadness of heart and many tears; not with an intention to grieve you, but that you might know the overflow 5 of tenderness and affection, which I have for you. But if the fornicator has been the cause of grief, I do not say, he has been so to me, but in some degree to you NOTES. 1 * That this is the meaning of this verse, and not that he would not come to them, in sorrow, a second time, is past doubt, since he had never been with them in sorrow a first time. Vid. 2 Cor. i. 15. 3 + Kai éypata vμïv T~To autò," and I writ to you this very thing." That sypaa,I writ," relates, here, to the first epistle to the corinthians, is evident, because it is so used, in the very next verse, and again a little lower, ver. 9. What, therefore, is it in his first epistle, which he here calls TUTO AUTÒ,"“this very thing," which he had writ to them? I answer, The punishment of the fornicator. This is plain by what follows here, to ver. 11, especially, if it be compared with 1 Cor. iv. 21, and v. 8. For there he writes to them, to punish that person; whom, if he, St. Paul, had come him. self, before it was done, he must have come, as he calls it, with a rod, and have himself chastised: but now, that he knows that the corinthians had punished him, in compliance to his letter; and he had had this trial of their obedience; he is so far from continuing the severity, that he writes to them to forgive him, and take him again into their affection. TEXT. 6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. 7 So that, contrariwise, ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him; lest perhaps such an one should be swallowed up with over-much sorrow. 8 Wherefore, I beseech you, that ye would confirm your love to wards him. 9 For to this end, also, did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. 10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for, if I forgive any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it, in the person of Christ. 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. PARAPHRASE. The cor 6 all; that I may not lay a load on him *. rection he hath received from the majority of you, is 7 sufficient in the case. So that, on the contrary †, it is fit rather that you forgive and comfort him, lest he should be swallowed up, by an excess of sorrow. 8 Wherefore, I beseech you to confirm your love to 9 him, which I doubt not of. For this, also, was one end of my writing to you, viz. To have a trial of you, and to know whether you are ready to obey me in 10 all things. To whom you forgive any thing, I also forgive. For if I have forgiven any thing, I have forgiven it to him for your sakes, by the authority, 11 and in the name of Christ; That we may not be over-reached by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his wiles. NOTES. 5* St. Paul being satisfied with the corinthians, for their ready compliance with his orders, in his former letter, to punish the fornicator, intercedes to have him restored; and, to that end, lessens his fault, and declares, however he might have caused grief to the corinthians, yet he had caused none to him. 7 + Tévævtíov, “ on the contrary," here, has nothing to refer to, but iπibαpw, "overcharge," in the 5th verse, which makes that belong to the fornicator, as I have explained it. 'O TOISTOS, "such an one," meaning the fornicator. It is observable, how tenderly St. Paul deals with the corinthians, in this epistle; for though he treats of the fornicator, from the 5th to the 10th verse inclusively; yet he never mentions him under that, or any other disobliging title, but in the soft and inoffensive terms, "of any oue," or "such an one." And that, possibly, may be the reason, why he says, un éπiểαp, indefinitely, without naming the person it relates to. TEXT. 12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas, to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus, my brother: but, taking my leave of them, I went from thence, into Macedonia. 14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge, by us, in every place. 15 For we are, unto God, a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. 16 To the one, we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other, the savour of life unto life; and who is sufficient for these things? PARAPHRASE. * 12 Furthermore, being arrived at Troas, because Titus, whom I expected from Corinth, with news of you, was not come, I was very uneasy there; insomuch that I made not use of the opportunity, which was put into my hands by the Lord, of preaching the 13 gospel of Christ, for which I came thither. Ï has tily left those of Troas, and departed thence to Ma14 cedonia. But thanks be to God, in that he always makes me triumph every-where †, through Christ, who gives me success in preaching the gospel, and 15 spreads the knowledge of Christ by me. For my mi nistry, and labour in the gospel, is a service, or sweetsmelling sacrifice to God, through Christ, both in regard of those that are saved, and those that perish. 16 To the one my preaching is of ill savour, unacceptable and offensive, by their rejecting whereof they draw death on themselves; and to the other, being as a sweet savour, acceptable, they thereby receive eternal life. And who is sufficient for these things? NOTES. 12 How uneasy he was, and upon what account, see ch. vii. 5-16. It was not barely for Titus's absence, but for want of the news he brought with him; ch. vii, 7. 14 "Who makes me triumph every-where," i. e. in the success of my preaching, in my journey to Macedonia; and also, in my victory, at the same time, at Corinth, over the false apostles, my opposers, that had raised a faction against me, amongst you. This, I think, is St. Paul's meaning, and the reason of his using the word, triumph, which implies contest and victory, though he places that word so, as modestly to cover it. 16 Vid. ch. iii. 5, 6. |