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.
Parallel Translations
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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.
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Beholde now the thyrde tyme I am redy to come vnto you: and yet will I not be grevous vnto you. For I seke not youres but you. Also the children ought not to laye vp for the fathers and mothers: but the fathers and mothers for the children.
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Behold, the thirde time I am ready to come vnto you, and yet will I not be slouthfull to your hinderance: for I seeke not yours, but you: for the children ought not to laye vp for the fathers, but the fathers for the children.
Cross-references (20)
Passages linked to 2 Corinthians 12:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Proverbs 19:14 House and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from Yahweh.
- Genesis 24:35-36 Yahweh has blessed my master greatly. He has become great. Yahweh has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male servants and female servants, and camels and donkeys. Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master when she was old. He has given all that he has to him.
- 1 Corinthians 10:33 even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.
- Genesis 31:14-15 Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Aren’t we considered as foreigners by him? For he has sold us, and has also used up our money.
- Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored for the righteous.
- 1 Corinthians 10:24 Let no one seek his own, but each one his neighbor’s good.
- Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and tell them, even the shepherds, ‘The Lord Yahweh says: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed the sheep?
- 2 Corinthians 1:15 In this confidence, I was determined to come first to you, that you might have a second benefit,
- Acts 20:33 I coveted no one’s silver, gold, or clothing.
- 1 Corinthians 4:14-15 I don’t write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have ten thousand tutors in Christ, you don’t have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus, I became your father through the Good News.
- Philippians 4:17 Not that I seek for the gift, but I seek for the fruit that increases to your account.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:5-6 For neither were we at any time found using words of flattery, as you know, nor a cloak of covetousness (God is witness), nor seeking glory from men (neither from you nor from others), when we might have claimed authority as apostles of Christ.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:11 As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children,
- 1 Peter 5:2-4 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly; not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.
- 1 Corinthians 4:19 But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord is willing. And I will know, not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Even so, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not the Good News of God only, but also our own souls, because you had become very dear to us.
- Proverbs 11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. He who is wise wins souls.
- 2 Corinthians 13:1-2 This is the third time I am coming to you. “At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, I write to those who have sinned before now, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare;
- Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Isn’t it even you, before our Lord Jesus at his coming? For you are our glory and our joy.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 14. Behold, this third time He commends his own…
14. Behold, this third time He commends his own deed, for which he had received a very poor requital from the Corinthians. For he says, that he refrained from taking their worldly substance for two reasons first, because he sought them, not their wealth; and secondly, because he was desirous to act the part of a father towards them. From this it appears, what commendation was due to his modesty, which occasioned him contempt among the Corinthians.
I seek not yours. It is the part of a genuine and upright pastor, not to seek to derive gain from his sheep, but to endeavor to promote their welfare; though, at the same time, it is to be observed, that men are not to be sought with the view of having every one his own particular followers. It is a bad thing, to be devoted to gain, or to undertake the office of a pastor with the view of making a trade of it; but for a person to draw away disciples after him, (Acts 20:30,) for purposes of ambition, is greatly worse. Paul, however, means, that he is not greedy of hire, but is concerned only for the welfare of souls. There is, however, still more of elegance in what he says, for it is as though he had said: “I am in quest of a larger hire than you think of. I am not contented with your wealth, but I seek to have you wholly, that I may present a sacrifice to the Lord of the fruits of my ministry.” But, what if one is supported by his labors? Will he in that case seek the worldly substance of the people. Unquestionably, if he is a faithful Pastor, he will always seek the welfare of the sheep — nothing else. His pay will, it is true, be an additional thing; but he ought to have no other aim, than what we have mentioned. Woe to those, that have an eye to any thing else!
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Parents for their children Was he then no father to the Philippians, who supported him even when absent from them? (Philippians 4:15, 16.) Was there no one of the other Apostles that was a father, inasmuch as the Churches ministered to their support? He did not by any means intend this; for it is no new thing for even parents to be supported by their children in their old age. Hence, those are not necessarily unworthy of the honor due to fathers, who live at the expense of the Church; but Paul simply wished to show from the common law of nature, that what he had done proceeded from fatherly affection. This argument, therefore, ought not to be turned in a contrary direction. For he did this as a father; but, though he had acted otherwise, he would, notwithstanding, have been a father still.
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.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 14 Behold, the third time I am ready to…
14 Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children.
Ver. 14. For I seek not yours] Not the fleece, but the flock. He had not those instruments of a foolish shepherd, forcipes et mulctram, the shears and milk pail, &c. The whole senate can witness, saith Beza, that whereas Calvin had a very small stipend, yet was he so far from being discontent therewith, that a more ample allowance being freely offered him, he obstinately refused it. All the goods that he left behind him when he died, his library also being sold very dear, came scarcely to 300 French crowns. Non opes, non gloriam, non voluptates quaesivi, said Melancthon, I never sought riches, pleasures, or preferments; this conscience I carry with me, whithersoever I go. (Melch. Adam.) I do ingenuously profess, saith Mr Rollock, that of all my stipends I have not laid up two pence, for I never cared for the things of this world. Luther never found himself once tempted to covetousness. And herein I could wish we were all Lutherans.
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But the parents for the children] We use to say, that one father will better provide for nine children than nine children will for one father. Howbeit, our spiritual fathers (though they seek us, and not ours, yet) they should find both "us" and "ours:" "us," in our obedience; "ours," in our recompence.
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 Behold, the third time I am ready to come…
Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you: we read in holy writ but of two journeys which the apostle made to Corinth, Act 18:1; 20:2, and the latter is believed to have been after the writing of this Epistle. We must not think that all these motions are set down in Scripture. It is manifest that Paul had thoughts of going oftener, Act 19:21; 1Co 16:5; 2Co 1:15. Man purposeth, but God disposeth. For which reason, James adviseth us to add:
If the Lord will, to our expressions testifying our resolutions.
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And I will not be burdensome to you; he lets them know, that he was coming to them with the same resolutions he had before taken up, not to put them to any charge.
For I seek not yours, but you; for that, which should be the design of every faithful minister, was his design; viz. the gaining of their souls to Christ, and protecting of them, that in the day of judgment he might present them as a pure and chaste virgin unto Christ. His business was not to enrich himself by them; he sought the good of their souls, not their estates.
For the children ought not to lay up for the parents: he looked upon them as his children, upon himself as their parent. And though indeed children ought to relieve their parents, if in want, yet it is not the course of the world for children to lay up for their parents.
But the parents for the children; but, on the contrary, it is the course of parents to maintain their children, and to lay up for them.
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 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 But be it so, I did not burden you,....…
But be it so, I did not burden you,.... These words are not spoken by the apostle in his own person of himself, but in the person of his adversaries, and contain a concession and an objection of theirs, but be it so; they granted that he had not burdened the Corinthians, that he had took nothing of them himself for preaching the Gospel; they owned that he had preached it freely; this was so clear a point, and so flagrant a case, that they could not deny it; yet they insinuated to the Corinthians, and objected to the apostle, that though he did not receive anything from them with his own hands, yet he craftily and cunningly made use of others to drain their purses, and receive it for him; and which is suggested in the next clause:
nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile; so say the false apostles of me; for these are not the words of the apostle in his own person; nor to be understood of any spiritual craft, or lawful cunning and prudent artifices used by him, to allure and draw the Corinthians into a good liking and opinion of the Gospel and of his ministry, and so caught them, and was the happy means of their conversion; but they are spoken in the person of the false apostles, charging him with a wicked and criminal craftiness, by making use of other persons in a sly underhanded way, to get this church's money, when he pretended to preach the Gospel freely; to which he answers in the next verse.
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 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 Verse 14. The third time I am ready] That…
Verse 14. The third time I am ready] That is, this is the third time that I am ready-have formed the resolution, to visit you. He had formed this resolution twice before, but was disappointed. See 1Co 16:5, and 2Co 1:15; 2Co 1:16. He now formed it a third time, having more probability of seeing them now than he had before. See 2Co 13:2.
I seek not yours, but you] I seek your salvation, I desire not your property; others have sought your property, but not your salvation. See 2Co 11:20.
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For the children ought not to lay up for the parents] You may have many teachers, but you have but one FATHER; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel; see 1Co 4:15. Ye are my children, and I am your father. You have not contributed to my support, but I have been labouring for your life. I will act towards you as the loving father who works hard, and lays up what is necessary to enable his children to get their bread.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 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 Behold, the third time I am ready to come…
Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you - That is, this is the third time that I have purposed to come and see you, and have made preparation for it. He does not mean that he had been twice with them and was now coming the third time, but that he had twice before intended to go and had been disappointed; see 1Co 16:5; 2Co 1:15-16. His purpose had been to visit them on his way to Macedonia and again on his return from Macedonia. He had now formed a third resolution, which he had a prospect of carrying into execution.
And I will not be burdensome to you - I resolve still, as I have done before, not to receive a compensation that shall be oppressive to you, see the notes on 2Co 11:9-10.
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For I seek not yours, but you - I desire not to obtain your property, but to save your souls. This was a noble resolution; and it is the resolution which should be formed by every minister of the gospel. While a minister of Christ has a claim to a competent support, his main purpose should not be to obtain such a support. It should be the higher and nobler object of winning souls to the Redeemer. See Paul’s conduct in this respect explained in the notes on Act 20:33.
For the children ... - There is great delicacy and address in this sentiment. The meaning is, “It is not natural and usual for children to make provisions for their parents. The common course of events and of duty is, for parents to make provision for their offspring. I, therefore, your spiritual father, choose to act in the same way. I make provision for your spiritual needs; I labor and toil for you as a father does for his children. I seek your welfare, as he does, by constant self-denial. In return, I do not ask you to provide for me, any more than a father ordinarily expects his children to provide for him. I am willing to labor as he does, content with doing my duty, and promoting the welfare of those under me.” The words rendered “ought out” (οὐ ὀφείλει ou opheilei) are to be understood in a comparative sense. Paul does not mean that a child ought never to provide for his parents, or to lay anything up for a sick, a poor, and an infirm father, but that the duty of doing that was slight and unusual compared with the duty of a parent to provide for his children. The one was of comparatively rare occurrence; the other was constant and was the ordinary course of duty It is a matter of obligation for a child to provide for an aged and helpless parent; but commonly the duty is that of a parent to provide for his children. Paul felt like a father toward the church in Corinth; and he was willing, therefore, to labor for them without compensation.
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 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 the third time--See Introduction to the first Epistle. His…
the third time--See Introduction to the first Epistle. His second visit was probably a short one (Co1 16:7), and attended with humiliation through the scandalous conduct of some of his converts (compare Co2 12:21; Co2 2:1). It was probably paid during his three years' sojourn at Ephesus, from which he could pass so readily by sea to Corinth (compare Co2 1:15-16; Co2 13:1-2). The context here implies nothing of a third preparation to come; but, "I am coming, and the third time, and will not burden you this time any more than I did at my two previous visits" [ALFORD].
not yours, but you-- (Phi 4:17).
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children . . . parents--Paul was their spiritual father (Co1 4:14-15). He does not, therefore, seek earthly treasure from them, but lays up the best treasure (namely, spiritual) "for their souls" (Co2 12:15).
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 14. Third time—No account in Acts, or elsewhere, exists…
14. Third time—No account in Acts, or elsewhere, exists of more than one visit by Paul to Corinth, during which he founded their Church, as fully and well narrated by Luke, Act_18:1-18. Moreover, 2Co_1:15 of this present epistle speaks of a visit to them intended, but not accomplished, as being a second one; which seems clearly to show that at the present writing no real second visit had taken place. St. Paul, then, meant here, in making out his third count, this second intentional visit as a real. Or, rather, it is intentions fulfilled and unfulfilled that he is counting, both here and at 2Co_12:1. Neither of the last two intentions had been as yet fulfilled.
Ready to come—As he was ready to come in 2Co_1:15, though he did not. In strict grammatical construction the third time qualifies the readiness.
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We could easily concede to Alford and others, who maintain a second visit, did the words justify it. We have noted, at 2Co_11:25-26, that there were many movements of St. Paul which no history has commemorated. But the second visit seems to us really precluded by St. Paul’s words, taking the three passages together.
Will not—As I did not during my first sojourn with you; when I partly maintained myself by labour with Aquila, at tent-making, and was partly supplied from Macedonia by Timothy and Silas.
Seek not—St. Paul’s real motive in refusing aid from Corinth was to silence cavil from all quarters. In what he here says, however, he overleaps that reason in words, but places himself on his reserved rights, as their spiritual parent, to be benefactor and not beneficiary.
Not yours, but you—Not their money for his own benefit, but their souls for their own salvation.
Children… parents—Not but that the current should often rightly flow upwards. Children are often obligated by duty to provide for parents. But this is not the usual direction:—parents are always expected to provide for their children; vice versa, sometimes.
But Paul claims here the parental right to provide, and not be provided for.
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 14. Behold, the third time] We can either interpret…
14. Behold, the third time] We can either interpret this (1) with most commentators, of some unrecorded visit to Corinth, or (2) with Paley, that St Paul is speaking here and in ch. 2Co_13:1 of the intention merely of visiting Corinth, such as we know (ch. 2Co_1:15-17) was frustrated once, and probably more than once. (1) is rendered improbable by the fact that St Paul had carefully avoided visiting Corinth for some time. The whole tenor of the Epistles, moreover, implies that he had not been to Corinth since his long stay there, since it would have been hardly possible, had such a visit been paid, that some more distinct notice of it should not appear in letters so overflowing with personal details as these. On the other hand, it must be admitted that our information (see notes on ch. 11) of St Paul’s movements is extremely incomplete.
I am ready] The phrase is almost the same as in ch. 2Co_10:6. St Paul does not say here that he has been to Corinth twice before, but simply that this is the third time in which he is holding himself in readiness to come. Whether he comes or not will depend upon their conduct. See ch. 2Co_13:10. Also ch. 2Co_13:1.
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not yours, but you] Not their money, nor their praise, nor even their affections (see next verse), but simply to induce them to give themselves to Christ.
but the parents for the children] Cf. 1Co_4:15. The treasures which were laid up by St Paul for his converts were the inexhaustible stores of Divine love and mercy given us in Jesus Christ. See Rom_9:33; Eph_1:7; Eph_1:18; Eph_2:7; Eph_3:8; Col_2:9, &c.
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 (14) Behold, the third time I am ready to…
(14) Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you.—The visit to Corinth of Act_18:1. followed by a long sojourn, may perhaps be reckoned as the first occasion; then came the projected journey from Ephesus to Corinth and thence to Macedonia (2Co_1:16); now he was preparing for the third journey, announced in 1Co_16:5-7, from Macedonia to Corinth. (See, however, the Note on 2Co_13:1.)
I seek not your’s, but you.—The words point to the secret motive of the conduct which had annoyed some of the Corinthians. He loved them, as all true friends love, for their own sake, not for anything he might hope to gain from them. He must be sure that he had gained their hearts before he could receive their gifts as poor substitutes for their affections; and therefore he announces beforehand that he meant to persevere in the same line of conduct, working for his own maintenance as before. Rom_16:23 indicates that he so far deviated from his purpose as to accept the hospitality of Gaius of Corinth.
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For the children ought not to lay up for the parents.—Better, perhaps, are not bound to lay by. There is a touch of exquisite delicacy and tenderness, reminding us of like characteristics in the Epistle to Philemon, in this apology for the seeming wrong of which men had complained. He could claim the rights of a father, as in 1Co_4:15; might he not be allowed to fulfil a father’s obligations, and to give to his children rather than receive from them?
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 The third time I am ready to come to…
The third time I am ready to come to you. He had been ready twice before, though the second time his actual visit had been prevented by the scandals in their Church. That the visit which he now contemplates is a third visit, and that there was an unrecorded second visit, is a needless and improbable inference from this passage. Be burdensome (see ver. 13). Not yours, but you. (1Th_2:8)
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 14, 15. The third time I am ready to…
14, 15. The third time I am ready to come to you. Then he had been there twice before; once when he founded the church; once while preaching at Ephesus, of which visit Acts gives no account. See also 13:1, and notes on 2:1. And I will not be burdensome to you. As before, he will maintain himself this third time. For the children, etc. As parents do with children, so will he, their spiritual father, do. He does not ask them to provide for him, while he feeds them the bread of life.
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 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 Behold, this is the third time I am ready…
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 yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children . [There has been much dispute as to whether Paul says that this is his third visit, or the third time he has intended to visit. Evidently it was to be his third visit. See 2Co_2:1 ; 2Co_12:21 ; 2Co_13:1-2 . Knowing that if this letter moved them to repentance or shame, the Corinthians would wish him to accept some compensation for his services, and that if he did so his enemies would revive their slanders against him, and assert that his whole purpose in writing was to gratify his mercenary desires, Paul makes it easy to decline any such offer on their part by declining it now beforehand. He asserts that he will maintain himself without their support, as he has done on his two former visits, and lest they should resent this independence on his part, he declares that he is actuated thereto by an intense love for them--a love which seeks not their money for his benefit, but their souls for their own benefit. He affectionately, yet almost playfully, bases his conduct on that rule as to parents and children which, though it sometimes permits children to aid parents, obliges parents always to maintain children. He was their spiritual father ( 1Co_4:14-15 ), and he claims the obligations of his parental relation as if they were much-coveted rights. Thus, as throughout the epistle, the thunders of the apostle have quickly subsided into the tender accents of the parent.]
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.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 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 12:14-15 the third time: Paul’s first visit was his…
12:14-15 the third time: Paul’s first visit was his initial evangelism at Corinth (Acts 18:1-18); the second was the unscheduled “painful visit” (2 Cor 2:1). Paul contemplates what he hopes will be a happier visit, but there is still some suspicion and a need to clear the air. • I will not be a burden: Paul did not want their money but rather that they would fully accept his authority. That is why he would gladly spend himself for them rather than accept payment from them.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.