For what is there in which you were made inferior to the rest of the assemblies, unless it is that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong.
Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not your possessions, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less? Even so, I myself didn’t burden you. “But, being crafty, I caught you with deception.” Did I take advantage of you by anyone of those whom I have sent to you? I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit? Didn’t we walk in the same steps?
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv13–16 13. What is there in which. Here is an…
13. What is there in which. Here is an aggravation of their ingratitude — that he had been distinguished, that they might receive benefit — that they had derived advantage from the attestation furnished of his Apostleship, and had, notwithstanding, given their concurrence to the slanders of the false Apostles. He subjoins one exception — that he had not been burdensome to them; and this, by way of irony, for in reality this was over and above so many acts of kindness, which he had conferred upon them — that he had served them gratuitously. To busy themselves after this, as they did, in pouring contempt upon him, what was this but to insult his modesty? Nay, what cruelty there was in it! Hence, it is not without good reason, that he sharply reproves pride so frantic. Forgive me this wrong, says he. For they were doubly ungrateful, inasmuch as they not only contemned the man, by whose acts of kindness they had been brought under obligation, but even turned his kind disposition into an occasion of reproach. Chrysostom is of opinion, that there is no irony implied, and that, instead of this, there is an expression of apology; but, if any one examines the entire context more narrowly, he will easily perceive, that this gloss is quite foreign to Paul’s intention.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv13, 16 I was not slothful in getting my living with…
I was not slothful in getting my living with mine own hands, that I might not be burdensome to you.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv13–18 13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior…
13 For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.
Ver. 13. Forgive me this wrong] A pleasant irony, such as whereof this Epistle is full. It is said of a wise man, Quod obiecta probra ut visus nocturnos, et vanas somniorum imagines digno supplicio puniat, festive scilicet contemptu et oblivione, vel si tanti est, misericordia elevet. (John Wover in Polymath.)
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv13–17 Wherein have not you been used as any other…
Wherein have not you been used as any other gospel churches were, where Peter, or James, or any other of the apostles have laboured? Hath not the same doctrine been preached to you? Have not as great miracles been wrought amount you? Hath not the Holy Ghost been as plentifully shed abroad amongst you, to enrich you with all spiritual gifts, so as you have come behind in no gospel benefit? I know of nothing in which it hath not fared with you as with other churches, except in this; that whereas in other churches the apostles, or their pastors, have been burdensome to them, taking stipends and salaries for their pains, I have forborne it, and have not at all charged you. If this be a wrong to you, I hope it is not of that nature, but I may obtain a pardon for it. The reasons of the apostle’s thus sparing the church of Corinth more than some other churches, we have before guessed at.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 The apostle here acquaints the Corinthians, that he prepared…
The apostle here acquaints the Corinthians, that he prepared himself a third time to come unto them, being providentially hindered twice before, yet with a firm resolution not to be any ways burdensome to them; for he coveted not their possessions, but was desirous of their salvation.
And as a parent lays up for his children, and takes not from them; so he desired, as their spiritual father, to enrich them with spiritual good things, and not to take from them any of their temporal riches. Nay, he adds, that he was willing to spend and be spent; that is, to spend his time, his strength, his pains, his life, although he met with very undue returns from some of them, who loved him so little, because he loved them so much; showing more kindness to the false apostles, than to him their spiritual father.
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Behold here an imitable pattern of ministerial diligence and faithfulness, love and affectionateness: the apostle was willing to spend and be spent; not only his purse and pains, but time and strength, life and health.
Oh, how tender are some of their carcass, how fearful of their skin, how sparing of their pains, for fear of shortening their days and hastening their end!
Whereas the lamp of our lives can never burn out better than in lighting others to heaven: is it not better that our flesh consume with industry and usefulness, than wear out with rust and idleness?
As it is the duty, so ’tis the dispostion of the faithful ministers of Christ to spend and to be spent for souls.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv13–18 And I will gladly spend,.... Meaning all his time,…
And I will gladly spend,.... Meaning all his time, talents, and strength, which God had bestowed upon him for their spiritual profit and advantage; yea, all that small pittance of worldly goods that he enjoyed: he not only determined to take nothing from them, but was willing to communicate his little substance to them, or spend it in their service; and not only so, but be spent for them:
and be spent for you, or "for your souls": for the good of them; his sense is, either that he was willing to have his whole substance expended, if it would be of any use to them; or his whole strength exhausted, in laborious preaching to them; or even his life to be laid down for them, was it necessary; which sense is favoured by the Syriac and Arabic versions; all which expressed his tender affection as a spiritual father for them: adding,
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though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved; though he loved them more than he did other churches, or than the false apostles loved them, and yet were loved by them less than he was by other churches; or by them, than the false apostles were; or rather the meaning is, that though he increased in his love, and in the expressions of it to them, and they grew colder and more indifferent to him, yet this should not hinder his warmest desires and most earnest endeavours after their spiritual and eternal welfare. This way of speaking strongly expresses his love to them, and tacitly implies the lukewarmness of theirs to him; and yet that it should be no discouragement to him to proceed in doing them all the service he was capable of.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–18 The third time - Having been disappointed twice. I…
The third time - Having been disappointed twice. I seek not yours - Your goods. But you - Your souls.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv13–18 Verse 13. For what is it wherein you were…
Verse 13. For what is it wherein you were inferior] This is a fine, forcible, yet delicate stroke. It was your duty and your interest to have supported your apostle; other Churches have done so: I did not require this from you; in this respect all other Churches are superior to you. I am the cause of your inferiority, by not giving you an opportunity of ministering to my necessities: forgive me the wrong I have done you. It is the privilege of the Churches of Christ to support the ministry of his Gospel among them. Those who do not contribute their part to the support of the Gospel ministry either care nothing for it, or derive no good from it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14, 16 2Co 12:14-15. Behold, the third time I am ready…
2Co 12:14-15. Behold, the third time I am ready — That is, resolved; to come to you — Having purposed it twice before, and been disappointed, 1Co 16:5; 2Co 1:15-16. And I will not be burdensome to you — More than formerly; for I seek not yours, but you — Not your money or goods, but the salvation of your souls. For children ought not — That is, it is not according to the course of nature for children to lay up temporal things for the parents, who commonly die before them; but the parents for the children — I therefore, your spiritual father, do not desire to partake of your temporal things, but to bestow my spiritual treasures upon you. And I will very gladly spend — My time, strength, and all I have; and be spent for you — Hazard, nay, and lose my life for your salvation, Joh 10:11; Php 2:17; 1Th 2:8. Though the more abundantly I love you, &c. — How unkind soever your returns may be, and though my love should be requited with neglect, or even with contempt.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv13–18 For what is it ... - This verse contains…
For what is it ... - This verse contains a striking mixture of sarcasm and irony, not exceeded, says Bloomfield, by any example in Demosthenes. the sense is,” I have given among you the most ample proof of my apostolic commission. I have conferred on you the highest favors of the apostolic office. In these respects you are superior to all other churches. In one respect only are you inferior - it is in this, that you have not been burdened with the privilege of supporting me. If you had had this, you would have been inferior to no others. But this was owing to me; and I pray that you will forgive me this I might have urged it; I might have claimed it; I might have given you the privilege of becoming equal to the most favored in all respects. But I have not pressed it, and you have not done it, and I ask your pardon.” There is a delicate insinuation that they had not contributed to his needs (see the note, 2Co 11:8); an intimation that it was a privilege to contribute to the support of the gospel, and that Paul might have been “burdensome to them” (see the notes on 1Co 9:1-12); and an admission that he was in part to blame for this, and had not in this respect given them an opportunity to equal other churches in all respects.
Was not burdensome to you - see this explained in the notes on 2Co 10:8.
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Forgive me this wrong - “If it be a fault, pardon it. Forgive me that I did not give you this opportunity to be equal to other churches. It is a privilege to contribute to the support of the gospel, and they who are permitted to do it should esteem themselves highly favored. I pray you to pardon me for depriving you of any of your Christian privileges.” What the feelings of the Corinthians were about forgiving Paul for this we know not; but most churches would be as ready to forgive a minister for this as for any other offence.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14–16 Now the third time I am ready to come.…
Now the third time I am ready to come. So he says again in the next chapter. That is, he was once with them, he had purposed to come a second time, and now a third time. --- I seek not the things that are yours, but you. That is, says St. John Chrysostom, your souls, not your goods; your salvation, not your gold. --- For the children. A modest pretty turn in their favour, by saying that fathers and parents are commonly supposed to leave their goods and riches to their children, not children for their parents. (Witham) --- St. Paul came to Corinth for the first time in the year 52, remaining with them 18 months. (Acts chap. xviii.) He came the second time in 55, but did not remain long with them; on which account it is omitted by St. Luke in the Acts. The date of this letter is in 57, when St. Paul again came to them towards the end of the year. (Calmet) --- Other interpreters, which no less authority question this sentiment, see ver. 1. of the following chapter, and say he only went twice; the first time as mentioned in Acts xviii. 1.; the second time, as we may draw from Acts xx.2. 3. after this epistle, as it is evident from comparing 2 Corinthians i. 15.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv13–18 wherein you were inferior--that is, were treated with less…
wherein you were inferior--that is, were treated with less consideration by me than were other churches.
I myself--I made a gain of you neither myself, nor by those others whom I sent, Titus and others (Co2 12:17-18).
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wrong--His declining support from the Corinthians might be regarded as the denial to them of a privilege, and a mark of their spiritual inferiority, and of his looking on them with less confidence and love (compare Co2 11:9, Co2 11:11).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv13–18 4. By disinterestedness, both in declining compensation (2Co_12:13-15) and…
4. By disinterestedness, both in declining compensation (2Co_12:13-15) and in using no guile for gain, (2Co_12:16-18,) 2Co_12:13-18.
From his powerful apostolate among them to his declining to accept, St. Paul makes a very graceful transition. His apostolate had placed the Corinthians at the highest eminence among the Churches; but there is this drawback—He had declined to be pecuniarily obligated to them. Under vail of apologizing for this slight, He asserts, gently, as if in view of his detractors, his own disinterestedness.
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13. What is it—My labours and signs had placed you in a rank equal to the best.
Inferior—But you complain, and I admit, that to labour for you and to place you on the gratuitous level, when I was aided by other Churches, was disparaging.
Burdensome—See note on 2Co_11:9.
Forgive me this wrong—As truly and persistently putting the Church in a disparaged position, there was a wrong justified by the facts, yet requiring some overlooking by the Corinthians. Their equivocal course towards their noble founder in dallying with his detractors had obliged him to place himself on high, independent ground.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–18 13. For what is it wherein ye were inferior…
13. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches] (hadden lesse than, Wiclif). There is no need to regard this, with some commentators, as “bitter irony.” There is nothing bitter about it. Ironical indeed it is, but it is irony of the very gentlest kind. ‘Everything that an Apostle can do has been done amongst you, except the throwing himself upon you for his maintenance’ (which had been made by the Apostle’s opponents one of the ‘signs of an Apostle;’ see 1Co_9:5-6). ‘Surely this is an offence which you might very readily forgive.’
I myself] St Paul’s resolution to decline maintenance at the hands of the Corinthians seems to have concerned himself alone, and not to have extended to his companions.
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burdensome] See ch. 2Co_11:9.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv13–18 (13) What is it wherein ye were inferior to…
(13) What is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches?—His mind travels back to the insinuation that he cared less for them than he did for the churches of Macedonia, because he had maintained his independence and had received no gifts from them. If they complained of this, they should, at least, remember that this was the only point of inferiority. They had experienced fully all the advantages that flowed from his special power as an Apostle. For that wrong, so far as it was a wrong, he asks their forgiveness.
That I myself was not burdensome.—He uses here, and in the next verse, the same characteristic word for “sponging” on them, which has been commented on in the Note on 2Co_11:9. He obviously dwells on it with a touch of irony, as a word that had been used of him by some of his rivals.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv13–18 I was not burdensome. The same word as in…
I was not burdensome. The same word as in 2Co_11:9. Forgive me this wrong. There is an exquisite dignity and pathos mixed with the irony of this remark.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv13–18 13. What is it wherein ye were inferior, etc.?…
13. What is it wherein ye were inferior, etc.? They had enjoyed every privilege of the most highly favored churches, and, perhaps, complained that he had preached without charge to them. See notes on 11:7–12. If this was a wrong, he asked forgiveness.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v14 2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
NOT YOURS BUT YOU
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2Co 12:14
Men are usually quick to suspect others of the vices to which they themselves are prone. It is very hard for one who never does anything but with an eye to what he can make out of it, to believe that there are other people actuated by higher motives. So Paul had, over and over again, to meet the hateful charge of making money out of his apostleship. It was one of the favourite stones that his opponents in the Corinthian Church, of whom there were very many, very bitter ones, flung at him. In this letter he more than once refers to the charge. He does so with great dignity, and with a very characteristic and delicate mixture of indignation and tenderness, almost playfulness. Thus, in the context, he tells these Corinthian grumblers that he must beg their pardon for not having taken anything of them, and so honoured them. Then he informs them that he is coming again to see them for the third time, and that that visit will be marked by the same independence of their help as the others had been. And then he just lets a glimpse of his pained heart peep out in the words of my text. ‘I seek not yours, but you.’ _There_ speaks a disinterested love which feels obliged, and yet reluctant, to stoop to say that it _is_ love, and that it _is_ disinterested. Where did Paul learn this passionate desire to possess these people, and this entire suppression of self in the desire? It was a spark from a sacred fire, a drop from an infinite ocean, an echo of a divine voice. The words of my text would never have been Paul’s if the spirit of them had not first been Christ’s. I venture to take them in that aspect, as setting forth Christ’s claims upon us, and bearing very directly on the question of Christian service and of Christian liberality.
I. So, then, first of all, I remark, Christ desires personal surrender.
‘I seek not yours, but _you_,’ is the very mother-tongue of love; but upon our lips, even when our love is purest, there is a tinge of selfishness blending with it, and very often the desire for another’s love is as purely selfish as the desire for any material good. But in so far as human love is pure in its desire to possess another, we have the right to believe the deep and wonderful thought that there is something corresponding to it in the heart of Christ, which is a revelation for us of the heart of God; and that, however little we may be able to construe the whole meaning of the fact, He does stretch out an arm of desire towards us; and for His own sake, as for ours, would fain draw us near to Himself, and is ‘satisfied,’ as He is not without it, when men’s hearts yield themselves up to Him, and let Him love them and lavish Himself upon them. I do not venture into these depths, but I would lay upon our hearts that the very inmost meaning of all that Jesus Christ has said, and is saying, to each of us by the records of His life, by the pathos of His death, by the miracle of His Resurrection, by the glory of His Ascension, by the power of His granted Spirit, is, ‘I seek you.’
And, brethren, our self-surrender is the essence of our Christianity. Our religion lies neither in our heads nor in our acts; the deepest notion of it is that it is the entire yielding up of ourselves to Jesus Christ our Lord. There is plenty of religion which is a religion of the head and of creeds. There is plenty of religion which is the religion of the hand and of the tongue, and of forms and ceremonies and sacraments; external worship. There is plenty of religion which surrenders to Him some of the more superficial parts of our personality, whilst the ancient Anarch, Self, sits undisturbed on his dark throne, in the depths of our being. But none of these are the religion that either Christ requires or that we need. The only true notion of a Christian is a man who can truly say, ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’
And that is the only kind of life that is blessed; our only true nobleness and beauty and power and sweetness are measured by, and accurately correspond with, the completeness of our surrender of ourselves to Jesus Christ. As long as the earth was thought to be the centre of the planetary system there was nothing but confusion in the heavens. Shift the centre to the sun and all becomes order and beauty. The root of sin, and the mother of death, is making myself my own law and Lord; the germ of righteousness, and the first pulsations of life, lie in yielding ourselves to God in Christ, because He has yielded Himself unto us.
I need not remind you, I suppose, that this self-surrender is a great deal more than a vivid metaphor: that it implies a very hard fact; implies at least two things, that we have yielded ourselves to Jesus Christ, by the love of our hearts, and by the unreluctant submission of our wills, whether He commands or whether He sends sufferings or joys.
And, oh, brethren, be sure of this, that no such giving of myself away, in the sweet reciprocities of a higher than human affection, is possible, in the general, and on the large scale, if you evacuate from the Gospel the great truth, ‘He loved me, and gave Himself for me.’ I believe--and therefore I am bound to preach it--that the only power which can utterly annihilate and cast out the dominion of self from a human soul is the power that is lodged in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross for sinful men.
And whilst I would fully recognise all that is noble, and all that is effective, in systems either of religion, or of irreligious morality, which have no place within their bounds for that great motive, I am sure of this, that the evil self within us is too strong to be exorcised by anything short of the old message, ‘Jesus Christ has given His life for thee, wilt thou not give thyself unto Him?’
II. Christ seeks personal service.
‘I seek . . . you’; not only for My love, but for My tools; for My instruments in carrying out the purposes for which I died, and establishing My dominion in the world. Now I want to say two or three very plain things about this matter, which lies very near my heart, as to some degree responsible for the amount of Christian activity and service in this my congregation. Brethren, the surrender of ourselves to Jesus Christ in acts of direct Christian activity and service, will be the outcome of a real surrender of ourselves to Him in love and obedience.
I cannot imagine a man who, in any deep sense, has realised his obligations to that Saviour, and in any real sense has made the great act of self-renunciation, and crowned Christ as his Lord, living for the rest of his life, as so many professing Christians do, dumb and idle, in so far as work for the Master is concerned. It seems to me that, among the many wants of this generation of professing Christians, there is none that is more needed than that a wave of new consecration should pass over the Church. If men who call themselves Christians lived more in habitual contact with the facts of their redeeming Saviour’s sacrifice for them, there would be no need to lament the fewness of the labourers, as measured against the overwhelming multitude of the fields that are white to harvest. If once that flood of a new sense of Christ’s gift, and a consequent new completeness of our returned gifts to Him, flowed over the churches, then all the little empty ravines would be filled with a flashing tide. Not a shuttle moves, not a spindle revolves, until the strong impulse born of fire rushes in; and then, all is activity. It is no use to flog, flog, flog, at idle Christians, and try to make them work. There is only one thing that will set them to work, and that is that they shall live nearer their Master, and find out more of what they owe to Him; and so render themselves up to be His instruments for any purpose for which He may choose to use them.
This surrender of ourselves for direct Christian service is the only solution of the problem of how to win the world for Jesus Christ. Professionals cannot do it. Men of my class cannot do it. We are clogged very largely by the fact that, being necessarily dependent on our congregations for a living, we cannot, with as clear an emphasis as you can, go to people and say, ‘We seek not yours, but you.’ I have nothing to say about the present ecclesiastical arrangements of modern Christian communities. That would take me altogether from my present purposes, but I want to lay this upon your consciences, dear brethren, that you who have other means of living than proclaiming Christ’s name have an advantage, which it is at your peril that you fling away. As long as the Christian Church thought that an ordained priest was a man who could do things that laymen could not do, the limitation of Christian service to the priesthood was logical. But when the Christian Church, especially as represented by us Nonconformists, came to believe that a minister was only a man who preached the Gospel, which every Christian man is bound to do, the limitations of Christian service to the official class became an illogical survival, utterly incongruous with the fundamental principles of our conception of the Christian Church. And yet here it is, devastating our churches to-day, and making hundreds of good people perfectly comfortable, in an unscriptural and unchristian indolence, because, forsooth, it is the minister’s business to preach the Gospel. I know that there is not nearly as much of that indolence as there used to be. Thank God for that. There are far more among our congregations than in former times who have realised the fact that it is _every_ Christian man’s task, somehow or other, to set forth the great name of Jesus Christ. But still, alas, in a church with, say, 400 members, you may knock off the last cypher, and you will get a probably not too low statement of the number of people in it who have realised and fulfilled this obligation. What about the other 360 ‘dumb dogs, that will not bark’? And in that 360 there will probably be several men who can make speeches on political platforms, and in scientific lecture-halls, and about social and economical questions, only they cannot, for the life of them, open their mouths and say a word to a soul about Him whom they say they serve, and to whom they say they belong.
Brethren, this direct service cannot be escaped from, or commuted by a money payment. In the old days a man used to escape serving in the militia if he found a substitute, and paid for him. There are a great many good Christian people who seem to think that Christ’s army is recruited on that principle. But it is a mistake. ‘I seek you, not yours.’
III. Lastly, and only a word. Christ seeks us, _and_ ours.
Not you _without_ yours, still less yours without you. This is no place, nor is the fag end of a sermon the time, to talk about so wide a subject as the ethics of Christian dealing with money. But two things I will say--consecration of self is extremely imperfect which does not include the consecration of possessions, and, conversely, consecration of possessions which does not flow from, and is not accompanied by, the consecration of self, is nought.
If, then, the great law of self-surrender is to run through the whole Christian life, that law, as applied to our dealing with what we own, prescribes three things. The first is _stewardship_, not ownership; and that all round the circumference of our possessions. Depend upon it, the angry things that we hear to-day about the unequal distribution of wealth will get angrier and angrier, and will be largely justified in becoming so by the fact that so many of us, _Christians included_, have firmly grasped the notion of possession, and utterly forgotten the obligation of stewardship.
Again, the law of self-surrender, in its application to all that we have, involves our continual reference to Jesus Christ in our disposition of these our possessions. I draw no line of distinction, in this respect, between what a man spends upon himself, and what he spends upon ‘charity,’ and what he spends upon religious objects. _One_ principle is to govern, getting, hoarding, giving, enjoying, and that is, that in it all Christ shall be Master.
Again, the law of self-surrender, in its application to our possessions, implies that there shall be an element of sacrifice in our use of these; whether they be possessions of intellect, of acquirement, of influence, of position, or of material wealth. The law of help is sacrifice, and the law for a Christian man is that he shall not offer unto the Lord his God that which costs him nothing.
So, dear friends, let us all get near to that great central fire till it melts our hearts. Let the love which is our hope be our pattern. Remember that though only faintly, and from afar, can the issues of Christ’s great sacrifice be reproduced in any actions of ours, the spirit which brought Him to die is the spirit which must instruct and inspire us to live. Unless we can say, ‘He loved me, and gave Himself for me; I yield myself to Him’; and unless our lives confirm the utterance, we have little right to call ourselves His disciples.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv13–18 For what is there wherein ye were made inferior…
For what is there wherein ye were made inferior to the rest of the churches, except it be that I myself was not a burden to you? forgive me this wrong . [And you are without excuse in thus compelling me to defend myself by proving my apostleship, for it was proved long since among you by the miracles which I wrought among you as signs and evidences of it (evidences which his enemies wholly lacked); and also by the patient spirit in which I wrought the miracles, for I have again and again forborne to use my power to crush my wicked opposers ( 2Co_1:1-3 ; 1Co_4:21 ). And I so fully proved my apostleship among you, that you showed to no disadvantage whatever when compared with other churches founded by any others, for you had all the signs, gifts, graces, etc., which they had, unless it be that I myself did not aid my opposers in the good work of extorting wages from you--forgive me for thus wronging you! These last words, though ironical, are superbly dignified and pathetic. By his disinterested kindness to them, the apostle had favored them above all other churches-- 2Co_11:8 ]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v17 Paul hopes for an edifying repentance on the part…
Paul hopes for an edifying repentance on the part of the Corinthians:
v. 17. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you?
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v. 18. I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? Walked we not in the same spirit? Walked we not in the same steps?
v. 19. Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? We speak before God in Christ; but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.
v. 20. For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not; lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults;
v. 21. and lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
Paul meets the suspicions of his enemies with direct questions; for just as he is sure of his own integrity, so he feels that he can vouch for his representatives, knowing that they did not give even the slightest occasion for drawing such conclusions as his enemies were trying to suggest to the Corinthians: Of those whom I sent to you, was there one through whom I took advantage of you? In his agitation the apostle does not regard the grammatical construction, so deeply does the matter affect him. His representatives had been under observation as long as they were in Corinth; let anyone in the congregation now step forward with definite charges. In case some of them might simulate ignorance as to what Paul referred to, lie says openly: I asked Titus to go on this mission, and with him I sent the brother (that accompanied him). They were his emissaries, they acted in his stead. Paul is referring to the mission from which Titus had just returned, bringing his report from the congregation at Corinth. Did Titus take advantage of you? Do we not walk in the same spirit, in the same steps? The same manner of dealing had been found in Titus which also animated Paul, the same Holy Spirit governed their actions and controlled their conduct. But now the Corinthians had recognized the single-mindedness and sincerity of Titus, chap. 7:13, and therefore Paul could construe their good opinion in his favor also, since Titus had carried out his instructions. Paul had nothing to hide, and all his acts and motives were above suspicion.
The apostle can therefore also state the aim of his boasting, namely, to edify them unto repentance. In doing so, he first of all rejects the idea as though he had been writing by way of apology: Are you thinking this long time that we are excusing ourselves to you? That would indeed have been unworthy of an apostle’s dignity, if he had made his authority dependent upon their appreciation. And therefore he tells them that such an idea was far from his intention; on the contrary: In the sight of God we speak in Christ. He has his power and authority from Christ, he is doing the work of his ministry in accordance with instructions from above. For that reason also it is true: But all the things (which we speak and do), beloved, me do for your edifying. That idea wits always foremost in Paul’s mind, how he might do more for their spiritual benefit, how he might advance them in their spiritual life.
But circumstances are tending to make him dubious as to their spiritual condition and welfare: For I fear lest, unfortunately, when I come, I shall find you not such as I would, and that I also shall be found to you such as you would not. He here expresses the affectionate solicitude of a father. He would find them not measuring up to the standard which he has set for them, and they, in turn, might not find him as pleasant as they had anticipated, but rather inclined to indignant severity because of their attitude and because of the unfulfilled promises of their spiritual condition. The meeting promised to be embarrassing and painful for both parties. He mentions eight kinds of evil fruit that usually flourished in such soil as they were preparing for themselves in Corinth and which he dreaded to find: strife, quarreling of every kind; jealousy, every one being full of distrust toward the other; ragings, vehement, passionate rage; party spirit and factions engendered by such spirit; back bitings, maledictions, and evil reports; whisperings, by which the good name of a neighbor was defamed; arrogance, both with regard to gifts and to knowledge; tumults, disorders which would seriously interfere with the work of the Gospel. These fruits could mature where the flesh and the devil still reigned, and indications pointed to the fact that their rule had not yet been broken in Corinth.
What effect that would have on the apostle he frankly tells them: Lest, when I come again, my God should humble me before you. It would truly be a humiliating experience for Paul to see such scanty fruit of his labor in the Gospel. Once before he had undergone this mortification, and he is not anxious to have the unpleasant experience repeated. For he would then be obliged to mourn for many that have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed. It seems that upon the occasion of his previous visit he had called attention to their proneness to sins of the flesh, and had warned them against every form of impurity, of immorality, and sensuality. If to his mourning over them and their refusal to repent there would be added this new grief of seeing other fruits of the flesh take hold in Corinth, the measure of his humility would surely be reached. It is always a matter of grievous, mournful concern to every faithful pastor if open offenders, flagrant sinners, persist in their impenitence, but he will not abandon hope until he has exhausted every means that might lead to their redemption.
Summary
In his boasting, Paul refers to special revelations, and particularly to one extraordinary vision which he had, as well as to the fact that the Lord is keeping him humble by a severe infirmity; he states that their love for him should have urged them to commend him, since his affection for them was genuine; he hopes for an edifying repentance on their part.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 16 I want you
I want you
The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "What I want is that you love and accept me" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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children should not save up for the parents
Young children are not responsible for saving money or other goods to give to their healthy parents.
I will most gladly spend and be spent
Paul speaks of his work and his physical life as if it were money that he or God could spend. AT: "I will gladly do any work and gladly allow God to permit people to kill me" (See: Metaphor)
for your souls
The word "souls" is a metonym for the people themselves. AT: "for you" or "so you will live well" (See: Metonymy)
If I love you more, am I to be loved less?
This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement. AT: "If I love you so much, you should not love me so little." or "If ... much, you should love me more than you do." (See: Rhetorical Question)
more
It is not clear what it is that Paul's love is "more" than. It is probably best to use "very much" or a "so much" that can be compared to "so little" later in the sentence.
translationWords
burden
children
soul
love
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv13, 14, 16 12:13 The only thing I failed to do refers…
12:13 The only thing I failed to do refers to his not taking payment for his services (see 11:7-11). • Please forgive me for this wrong! This request is ironic and tongue-in-cheek.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.