2 Corinthians 2:8

διὸ παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς κ. τ. λ.: wherefore I beseech you (or “exhort you,” see on 2 Corinthians 1:4) to confirm your love toward him. Authority “to bind” and “to loose” had been committed to the Apostles (Matthew 18:18); St. Paul had exercised the former function (1 Corinthians 5:5), and he now discharges the latter. The various meanings of παρακαλεῖν have been noted above (on 2 Corinthians 1:4); it is interesting to observe here how the word is used in one sense in 2 Corinthians 2:7, and in another in close sequence in 2 Corinthians 2:8 (cf. the two senses of παραδίδωμι in 1 Corinthians 11:23). For ἀγάπη see on 2 Corinthians 2:4 above.