SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1 CONTENTS He consoles the Corinthians, whom in the First Epistle he had sharply rebuked, and absolves the excommunicated fornicator, who was now penitent. He then proceeds to treat of true repentence, of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament,... [ Continue Reading ]
_For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth in Christ._ "The sufferings of Christ" are, (1.) as S. Ambrose takes it, those which we suffer for Christ; (2.) such as Christ suffered; (3.) those which Christ regards as His own, in accordance with S. Mat 25:40 and Ac... [ Continue Reading ]
_But we had the sentence of death in ourselves_. "But," here, has the meaning of "moreover." Nature and inclination presaged and expected nothing but death; and when I thought of the state of my life, my mind answered that I must die if God did not lend miraculous aid. So Ambrose and Theophylact. T... [ Continue Reading ]
_Who delivered us from so great a death._ "From so great dangers," according to the Latin. The meaning is the same. Ambrose reads "from so great deaths." The Hebrews are wont to apply the name of _death_ to great dangers, violent persecutions, grief, and agony that are akin to death, and that seem t... [ Continue Reading ]
_That by the means of many persons._ Primasius reads this, "By a company of many persons," that is, children, youths, and old men. S. Paul's meaning is, that through many people in a great concourse of men, thanks may be publicly given to God for S. Paul's deliverance and safe return, as the common... [ Continue Reading ]
_For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience._ "For" introduces the reason why the Corinthians should give thanks and pray for Paul. It is because he was their Apostle, who, with great grace and efficacy, preached to them the Gospel and converted them; and in proof of this he calls up... [ Continue Reading ]
_We are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours._ We are the object of your rejoicing as your teachers; ye, as good disciples, are the object of our rejoicing; and this rejoicing will chiefly be seen in the day when the Lord will come to judge all men.... [ Continue Reading ]
_I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit._ The first benefit was that of his First Epistle; his second would have been his visit to them in person. So Theophylact. Or else the first benefit was his first visit, when he converted them; his second would be his second... [ Continue Reading ]
_And to pass by you into Macedonia._ To pay them a flying visit, and then return from Macedonia to them again, so as to stay longer with them. This is what he means in 1 Corinthians 16:5, where he says that he would come to them after he had passed through Macedonia. Here he adds further to this tha... [ Continue Reading ]
_When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness_? That is, when I proposed to come to you and did not. The Greek word for lightness is derived from the word for a stag. In a like way we speak of the wisdom of the serpent, the innocence of the dove, the stubbornness of the ass, the headiness o... [ Continue Reading ]
_But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay_. I call the true God to witness, who is a faithful and true witness, that in teaching you I did not deceive you, and, therefore, that it was not my intention to fail you when I promised to come to you. This teaches the preacher to beware... [ Continue Reading ]
_For the Son of God... was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea._ My preaching and teaching about Christ was not variable, inconstant, and contradictory, but was a constant, uniform statement, for I always said and taught the same of Christ.... [ Continue Reading ]
_For all the promises of God in Him are yea._ All the promises of God in the Old Testament relating to the Messiah were constant and true, and have been fulfilled in Him. 1 The yea yea here, and in S. Matthew 5:47, have a threefold signification: (1.) constant asseveration, as opposed to inconstanc... [ Continue Reading ]
_Now He which stablished us._ Some think that this is an ellipse, and we must understand the meaning to be, He which stablisheth us prevented, the execution of my purpose. But it is far better to refer these words, as others do, to what immediately precedes them. The promises of God have been fulfil... [ Continue Reading ]
_Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul._ From this it is lawful for a Christian to take an oath, says S. Augustine (qu. 5, inter. 83); for the Apostle here takes an oath, and that one of execration. If I lie, he says, may God be my judge and condemn my soul. _That to spare you I came not as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy._ This is a well-known rhetorical figure of speech, by which he tones down what had been said before of his power. He means: I said that 1 was unwilling to punish, and wished you of your own accord to correct yourselves; but... [ Continue Reading ]