2 Corinthians 1:12

ἁγιότητι (אABC) rather than ἁπλότητι (DFL, Latt. Syrr. Goth.).

12. Ἡ γὰρ καύχησις ἡμῶν αὕτη ἐστίν. For our glorying is this. The triplet, καύχησις (2 Corinthians 7:4; 2 Corinthians 7:14; 2 Corinthians 8:24; 2 Corinthians 11:10; 2 Corinthians 11:17), καύχημα (2 Corinthians 1:14; 2 Corinthians 5:12; 2 Corinthians 9:3), and καυχᾶσθαι (20 times), occurs more often in 2 Corinthians than in all the rest of the N.T. Outside the Pauline Epistles none of the three occurs more than twice. The A.V. is capricious; ‘glorying,’ 2 Corinthians 7:4; ‘boasting,’ 2 Corinthians 7:14; 2 Corinthians 8:24; 2 Corinthians 11:10; 2 Corinthians 11:17; ‘rejoicing,’ here. ‘Rejoicing’ is wrong, and ‘boast’ is wanted for αὐχεῖν (James 3:5). The Apostle’s repetition of the word must be preserved by a uniform translation. The γάρ closely connects this section with the preceding Thanksgiving. ‘I feel sure of your intercessions, for my conscience tells me that I have done nothing to forfeit them.’

τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν. Here, as in Romans 1:15; Romans 9:1, the conscience is distinguished from the self as a power giving separate testimony. Συνείδησις is ‘co-knowledge’ (comp. 1 Corinthians 4:4): consciousness of one’s acts is one knowledge; reflexion on their merit is another. Neither word nor thing was known to Plato or Aristotle; the use of the term seems to begin with the Stoics. Comp. Wis 17:10. In N.T. the word occurs only in the Pauline Epistles, S. Paul’s speeches in Acts (Acts 23:1; Acts 24:16), Hebrews, 1 Peter, and [Jn] 2 Corinthians 8:9. See Westcott on Hebrews 9:9 and Bigg on 1 Peter 2:19; also Cremer, Lex. p. 233.

ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. In holiness and God-given sincerity. See critical note. ‘Sincerity of God’ is that which has its source in God, as is seen from what follows; but ‘pleasing to God’ and ‘Godlike, Divine’ are also possible. For ἁγιότης, which is very rare in Biblical Greek, comp. Hebrews 12:10; 2Ma 15:2. For εἰλικρινία comp. 2 Corinthians 2:17; 1 Corinthians 5:8. Its derivation is a problem: it means ‘freedom from deceit and fraud, purity of intention.’ See Lightfoot on Philippians 1:10. On the shortening of -εια to -ια see WH. II. p. 154.

οὐκ ἐν … ἀλλʼ ἐν. The repetition of the ἐν must be preserved: not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God. By σοφία σαρκική is meant unscrupulous human cleverness, the very opposite of ‘God-given sincerity.’ There was plenty of it at Corinth, in trade, in politics, and in philosophy. S. Paul has suffered from it grievously; but he had never thought it right ‘to fight the devil with his own weapons,’ or allow his good to be evil-spoken of (Romans 14:16). Chrysostom paraphrases, οὐκ ἐν κακουργίᾳ οὐδὲ πονηρίᾳ, οὐδὲ ἐν δεινότητι λόγων ἢ ἐν συμπλοκῇ σοφισμάτων. Comp. 1 Corinthians 2:1.

ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ. We behaved ourselves in the world. ‘Conversation’ in the sense of manner of life has unfortunately gone out of use, and the R.V. drops it here and Ephesians 2:3 for ἀναστρέφεσθαι, and also Galatians 1:13 and Ephesians 4:22 for ἀναστροφή, as well as Philippians 3:20 for πολίτευμα, and Hebrews 13:5 for τρόπος. See Deissmann, Bible Studies, pp. 88, 194, where it is shown that this use of ἀναστρέφεσθαι and ἀναστροφή of moral conduct is common in secular language. By ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ a contrast is drawn between the holiness of life and the sphere in which it was exhibited,—the heathen world in which the Apostle laboured. See Hort on 1 Peter 1:15, and Suicer, Thes. s.v.

περισσοτέρως δὲ πρὸς ὑμᾶς. More abundantly towards the Corinthians, because of the perils of the situation. Holiness and sincerity, with reliance on God’s grace rather than upon worldly craft, were specially necessary in dealing with such a Church. Moreover he had been there a long time, and they had had more abundant opportunities of observing him.