2nd Corinthians Chapter 7
Originally posted Tuesday August 5, 2008
2nd Corinthians Chapter
7:2-16 Corinth Repents
As
mentioned in the comments on Chapter
6 we would do well to begin by reading 6:11-13followed immediately by 7:2. This keeps the continuity of
Paul's plea for the Corinthians' consideration of what the
evangelists have gone through on their behalf and of his personal fondness
and unwavering love for them. As we read this passage it becomes evident that
the letter mentioned in 2:1-4 and
Corinth's reaction still weighs heavy on his heart. He finds it necessary,
for emphasis, to repeat his defense as an honorable apostle acting in the
community's best interest. He has neither wronged anyone not taken
advantage of any one. In fact, out of the deep sense of pride he
feels for them he has boasted about them to other communities of faith in
Macedonia as an example to follow. His pride in their
spiritual maturing is strong enough to bring him consolation and joy
even as he suffers for the cause of Christ. For Paul, even with the
troubles in Corinth, all that he faces has been worthwhile. This is a
reflection of the hope he has that those new churches that he and others are
now birthing, like so many hens in their nests, will also mature and strengthen
as faithful extensions of the body of Christ.
But
Paul's afflictions have been softened by the arrival of Titus who has
been in Corinth and finally caught up with him. We do not know
where Paul is as he writes to Corinth other than somewhere in Macedonia.
The letter is thought by most scholars to contain from 2 to 5 separate
letters or large fragments of letters. The repetitiveness we notice
in certain themes is a product of this "bundling" process in the
final editing phase of collecting the letters.
Titus
brings very good news from Corinth. Paul's painful letter (2:1-4) has caused the Corinthians
to "make room in [their] hearts" for Paul. Titus reports of a
dramatic change of heart in the community and their "longing, mourning
[and] zeal" for Paul. This is indeed joyous news for Paul who, while
knowing his letter has grieved them, he also knew it was necessary to call
their attitudes into question in a firm way. As their spiritual father, he must
address them with praise and correction. In this case his correction has led
them to repentance for the estrangement their brief resentment has
caused. Paul is able to finesse their response in several ways. He can
remind them that it was a "godly grief" (their spiritual
conscience) that led them to repentance and to admit to themselves they
had not been wronged by Paul at all. He can let them see that this godly grief
they feel and which has led them to repentance also leads to salvation
(articulated by some as being convicted). They have been eager to clear
themselves of the wrong they now perceive, a wrong which led not only to an
estrangement from Paul but from God as well (thus Paul's use of indignation,
alarm and punishment as characterizing the Corinthians' fear/grief-based
assessment of what they have done). Their grief has led to repentance, the
assurance of their salvation and to reconciliation. Paul can now pronounce the
absolution: "At every point you have proved yourselves guiltless
(forgiven) in the matter." The letter has served its purpose. It
has brought to mind for the Corinthians an awareness of the love they
have felt for Paul all along but had been momentarily clouded by their own
haughtiness, having closed their hearts to him. It has led to their repentance
and to their reconciliation.
All
is healed and all is well. There has even been the added
bonus received by Paul with regard to Titus. Paul has been "somewhat
boastful" in his glowing claims about the Corinthian church. Titus' visit
and his learning of the community's repentance, has allowed him to see the
members in Corinth as Paul sees them - in the best light, that is. Paul's
boasts have not been found wanting by Titus.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note: There are times when
Paul's frequent mention of having suffered for the sake of the Gospel seems
self-serving. Is he bragging, or as he would say, commending himself to the
Corinthians? Is he adding substance to his apostolic resume to demonstrate how
hard - and dangerously, he toils, even beyond what others do? It does appear
this way on occasions. Perhaps it is his way to say to the Corinthians,
"after all I have done for you, this is how you treat me!." Another
possibility was his feeling of guilt for having been an avid persecutor of the
early church in Jerusalem and surrounding areas which he came to understand as
persecuting Jesus. He may have felt the need to be punished, to be made to
suffer just as others had been made to suffer because of his zealotry. We
remember in Acts how Peter had been beaten by the Temple police and he rejoiced
as one who was privileged to suffer as did Jesus. Perhaps all of these played a
role in his subconscious. There is another reason, perhaps associated with
a higher level of nobility as well as courage. He understood his own experience
of Jesus as having changed him from being a lost pilgrim on the road to
oblivion. His experience, whatever it was, absolutely changed him into a new
person, a new creation, and he credited this mystical conversion to having
come face to face with an overwhelmingly imposing holy presence. God was no
longer the parochial deity of Israel. He was the God of all and to the all he
had issued a summons to appear, like Paul, before the holy presence that was in
Christ. Against that backdrop of splendor whatever Paul suffered and would
suffer in the future, was nothing. When we read those majestic words of Rom. 8:38-39 that only a profound
spiritual ecstasy could carve into the clouds, we too might be moved
to believe:
"For I am convinced
that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord."
Paul
could sing these words in the worst of trials. He could sing them to every
gathering in every small hamlet and every large city and invite all who
were hungry enough to listen to share the music with him.
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