PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians
Hodge, Charles, 1797–1878 · 138,725 words · 304 reading sections
CHAPTER I.
The Salutation, vs. 1. 2. Thanksgiving to God for the deliverance and cou- olation which the writer had experienced, vs. 3-11. Defence of himself gainst the charge of inconstancy and inconsistency, vs. 12-24. PauVs gratitude for the deliverance and consolation irJiich he had experienced. Vs. 1-11. After the apostle h…
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part of the larger portion of the congregation, the manifesta- tion of the warmest afiection for the apostle, relieved his mind from a load of anxiety, and filled his heart with grati- tude to God. On the other hand, the increased boldness and intiiience of the false teachers, the perverting errors Avhich they inculcat…
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theirs and his consolation also as belonging to them, vs. 3-7. He refers to the afflictions which came upon him in Asia, so that he desj^aired of life, but through their prayers God who had dehvered, still delivered, and he was assured, would con- tinue to deliver him, vs. 8-11. 1. 2. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Cluist …
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and the latter all the southern part of Greece. It is in this wide sense Achaia is always nsed in the New Testament. From this it aj^pears that the converts to Christianity in Greece were at this time very few out of Corinth, as they were all members of the church ui that city. Grace and 2)eace^ the favour of God and i…
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invested with that nature, is our Lord Jesus Christ. It is he who so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoso believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life. It is therefore the peculiar, characteristic Christian designation of God, as it presents him as the God of redemption. Rom. 15…
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heathen, so that his life was a continued death, or, as he ex- pressed it, he died daily. Besides these external afflictions he was overwhelmed with cares and anxiety for the churches. And as though all this were not enough, he had " a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan," to buffet him. See 11, 24-30, and 12, 1. …
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afflicted, they would be similarly comforted; but the main idea is that such was the intimate bond between them and him that he had a firm hope they would be partakers both of his affliction and of his consolation. Though this appears to be the primary idea of the passage, the others are not to be excluded. Paul no dou…
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prehends all the afflictions to which in this connection he re- fers. The probability is that he alludes to trials of different kinds, and especially to plots and attempts against his life. He was surrounded by enemies, Jews and heathen, who thirst- ed for his blood. And we know, as remarked above, that the Acts of the…
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ance on God, until we renounce all confidence in ourself. When Paul was convinced that no wisdom nor eftbrts of his own could deliver him from death, then he was forced to rely on the power of God. God is here described as he icho rais- eth the clead^ because the apostle's deliverance was a deliver- ance from death. It…
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for the gift (bestowed) upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. Intercessory prayer has great power, otherwise Paul would not so often solicit it on his own behalf, and enjoin the duty on his readers. His confidence in his safety for the fu- ture was not founded simply on the e…
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to go direct from Ephesus to Corinth, thence into Macedonia, and back again to Corinth, y. 16. This plan he had been in- duced to modify before the former epistle was sent, as in 1 Cor. 16, 5 he tells them he would not visit them until he had passed through Macedonia. On this slight ground his enemies in Corinth repres…
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ayioTT/?, purity or sanctity^ which the recent editors generally adopt. The former word is much more common in Paul's writings, and is better suited to the following term, ciXtKptVeta, w^hich means translucence, clearness, sincerity of mind. It is called the sincerity of God^ which our translators exj^Iain as meaning g…
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acknowledge. *I trust ye shall acknowledge unto the end (as ye have acknowledged us in part), that we are your re- joicing.' The verb cTrtytvcoo-Kcti/ combines the ideas of recog- nition and of complete knowledge. The words in part are most naturally referred to the Corinthians, ye in part^ i. e. a part of you. Paul kn…
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are your rejoicing, Paul was not afraid to go to Corinth. He did not doubt that the great majority of the church would receive him with confidence and affection. The change in the plan of his journey arose, as he afterwards states, from very different motives. Paul says he xoas minded^ i. e. intended to come to them be…
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of a twofold charge against him ; first, of levity, and secondly, of inconsistency ; saying one thing, and doing another ; or saying one thing at one time, and the ojoposite at another, so that he was utterly untrustworthy either as a man or as a teacher. This was indeed a slight foundation on which to rest such a char…
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of God, so that with huu a yea should be yea, and a nay, nay, let what would be the consequence. But in the 18th v. this interpretation is impossible, because it is there simply " yea and nay." That verse therefore determines the meaning of this. Besides, what he goes on to defend himself against is not a charge of obs…
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perhaps better with our translators, after Calvin, Beza, and many other commentators, ancient and modern, to take the words as an asseveration. So true as God is faithful, so true is it, that, &G. Comp. 11, 10, ca-nv r) dX^^cta XptcrTOu Iv i/moL, oTi. Rom. 14, 11, ^w eyw — on, as J live — evert/ knee shall bow to me. J…
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dence in God. To tell him that his preaching "was not to be depended upon, was in his mind the same as to say that God was not to be believed ; for he knew that he was the infallible organ of God in all his teaching. 1 John 5, 10. 19. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, (even) by me and…
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expect. Let, therefore, what will become of me and of my reputation for veracity, Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. 20. Por all the promises of God in liim are yea, and in him amen, unto the glory of God by us. This verse is the confirmation of what precedes. Christ was, and is, not yea and nay, not …
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in his promises thus expressed. The words, however, admit of a different construction. By us may be connected with the first part of the clause. ' The Amen is said by us to the glory of God.' This may mean, ' We Christians render a glad assent to the promises thus ratified in Christ.' But us in the immediate context re…
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reference to all believers he unites them with liiinself, us with you. The constancy in faith which God gave was not a gift peculiar to teachers, but common to all true Christians. And hath anointed us. Kings, prophets, and priests were anointed when inaugurated in their several offices ; to anoint may there- fore mean…
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The Holy Spirit, wliicli in one view is an unction, in another view is a seal. He marks those in whom he dwells as belong- ing to God. They bear the seal of God upon them. Rev. 7, 2. 2 Tim. 2, 19. Act. Thoin. § 26, 6 ^eos Ota t>}5 a.vrov atfypayl- 8o? l-myivdio-Ku to. tSia TrpojSara, God Jcnoics by his seal his own she…
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23. Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. Paul here returns to the original charge. The complaint against him for not having executed his purpose of going at once from Ephesus to Corinth, he had left on one side to meet the more serious charge of inconsistenc…
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St. Peter says, are not lords over God's heritage. 1 Pet. 5, 3. Others say faith here means faith-hfe; we have not dominion over yonr Christian hfe. Both of these interpretations are unnatural and unnecessary. The word is to be taken in its ordmary sense. Paul disclaims all authority over their faith, either as a man o…
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ject to man, or that we should have dominion over your faith.' This, however, is rather an obscure argument. Ac- cording to Meyer the connection is with the immediately pre- ceding words, ' We are helpers of your joy, because ye are steadtast as to faith,' That is, steadfastness in faith is necessa- ry to joy. The most…
360 wordsSECTION 26CHAPTER II.
The first paragraph, vs. 1-4, relates to the change of his plan of going im- mediately to Corinth. In vs. 5-11 he refers to the case of discipline mentioned in his former letter. In vs. 12-14 he states why he did not remain in Troas. And in vs. 14—17 he pours out his heart in gratitude to God for the continued triumph …
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This is the reason why he did not wish to come bringing sorrow with him ; ' For if,' says he, ' I make you sorry, who is there to make me glad ? How can I be happy, if you are afflicted ? Unless my visit cause you joy, it can bring no joy to me.' As inspiration leaves full play to all the characteristic peculiarities o…
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came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice ; having confidence in you all that my joy is (the joy) of you all. Having said that his motive for not coming at once to Cor- inth Avas to avoid giving them sorrow, he here adds, 'And I wrote what I did in my former letter that, when I came, I might not …
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of you all. Paul in saying that he wished all causes of painiiil collision might be removed out of the way before he went to Corinth, did not isolate himself from the people, as though concerned only for his own peace of mind, but was satisfied that what made him happy would make them happy. My joy will be the joy of y…
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have the more abundantly towards you. The ends which the apostle desired to accomplish by his former letter were numer- ous, and he therefore sometimes specifies one, and sometimes another. Here, he says, it was to manifest his love ; in v. 9 he says it was to test their obedience ; in ch. 7 he says it was to bring the…
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meant to charge them with mdifFerence. But to this it is ob- jected that to express this sense et /xrj, and not dAAa, would be required. " He hath not grieved me except in part." And secondly, that the idea thus expressed is not suited to the context. The main idea evidently is, ' He hath not grieved me but you.' The s…
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it. This, however, is not a necessary inference, because ot TrAeioVes may mean the many^ the whole body considered as many, because composed of many members. There are three views taken of this verse in connection with what follows. In his former letter the apostle had not only commanded the church to excommunicate the…
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7. So that contrariwise ye (ought) rather to forgive (him) and comfort (liim), lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. The consequence of what is expressed in v. 8 is indicated by the words so that. ' The punishment being sufficient, the consequence is that, instead of its being increased …
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swallowed up with overmuch sorrow unless you forgive him, wherefore confirm your love to hira.' The latter method is to be preferred, though the sense is substantially the same. I beseech you, TrapaKaAco, the same word which in the preced- ing verse is used in the sense of consoling. Paul not unfre- quently uses the sa…
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the object of that exhortation. It is better therefore to un- derstand the (/cat) also^ as simply intended to give j^i'oniinence to the words Iiorote^ as something additional to other things which he had done with the same general object. ' To this end I also wrote, as well as did many other things,' &c. The end (altho…
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forgiven for your sake in the presence of Christy that is, Christ is the witness of my being forgiven. Tliis is contrary to all scriptural representations. God is said to forgive for Christ's sake ; and Christ is said to forgive, but he is never represented as the mere witness or spectator of our for- giveness. 11. Le…
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not Titus my brother ; but taking my leave of them, 1 went from thence into Macedonia. Furthermore^ when I came ; literally, Bat having come. The particle 8e [hut) serves to resume the connection broken by the digression, vs. 5-11. In v. 4 he said he had written liis former letter in great anguish and distress of hear…
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cause T found not Titus my brother. He calls Titus his broth- er, both because of his relation to him as a fellow-Christian, and because he was a joint labourer with him in the gospel. He expected to meet Titus at Troas, and to learn from him the state of things in Corinth, and especially the effect produced by his for…
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in it, are to be attributed to God. This leads him to speak of the ministry of the gos^^el, -which he contrasts with that of the law, and himself with Moses, so that it is not until the seventh chapter that he pauses, as it were, to take breath, and resumes the narrative here broken off. The thing for which the apostle…
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was the great end of Paul's mission, and is of all tliins^s the most acceptable to God. Knowledge here, as so often else- where in Scripture, means not merely intellectual cognition, but spiritual apprehension and recognition. That men should know the Lord Jesus Christ in the sense of recognizing, loving and worshippin…
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two classes are designated ah eventu. The gospel and those who preach it are well pleasing to God, whether men receive it and are saved, or reject it and are lost. The light is inesti- mably precious, whether the eye rejoices in it, or through dis- ease is destroyed by it. Comp. 1 Cor. 1, 18. 2 Thess. 2, 10. IG. To th…
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tive. It is then not a savour of death or of Ufe^ but a savour arising from death, and a savour arising from life. To the one class Christ is dead and yields only a savour of death ; to the other, he is alive, and yields a savour of life. According to either reading the main idea is the same. Christ and his gospel, and…
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This some understand to mean the mass or majority of those who preach the gospel. The apostle would thus be made to condemn, as corrupters of the faith, the great body of the min- isters of the apostolic church. This, however, is unnecessary. The many, means the definite many known to the Corinthians as false teachers,…
412 wordsSECTION 44CHAPTER IH.
The apostle shows that he does not need to commend himself or to be com- mended by the Corinthians ; that God had qualified him for the work of a minister of the new, and not of the old covenant, vs. 1-11. He ex- ercised his ministry in accordance with the peculiar character of the new dispensation, vs. 12-18. Proof o…
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ing God for causing liiin to triumph, or in tlie assertion of his sincerity, in 1, 15-17, yet he knew that his enemies would put that construction on what he had said. He seems to hear til em say, ' He is commending himself again.' It is plain from the use of the word agairi in this connection, that the charge of prais…
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when it is a matter of subjective, as distinguished from ob- jective knowledge. Thus the law of God is said to be written on the heart when the knowledge of it is inward and not merely outward. Jer. 31, 33. Heb. 8, 10. Rom. 2, 15. Any thing of which a man is certain, or of which he has a convic- tion founded upon his i…
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This is a figurative way of expressing the idea that the con- version of the Corinthians was a divine, supernatural work, and therefore an irrefi-agable proof that Paul, by whose in- strumentality the work was etfected, was the minister of Christ. Tliis was a letter, therefore, infinitely above any or- dinary letter wr…
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he had received from Christ. This confidence of the apostle that he was what God had called him to be, an able or fit minister of the gospel, was not a trait of natural character ; it was not a conclusion from his inward and outward experi- ence ; it was one of the forms in which the Spirit of God which was in him mani…
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good. He had no power of himself to accomplish any thing. His iitness for his work, whether consisting in knowledge, or grace, or fidelity, or efficiency, did not arise out of any thing he was in or of himself The word XoyCi^aa^ai docs not here mean to judge^ or to tliinh out or determbie. The idea is not that Paul was…
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determine whether the words " new covenant " refer to the gospel dispensation introduced by Christ, or to the covenant of grace inaugurated in the first promise made to our fallen parents. And in like manner it is not easy always to decide whether the words the " old covenant " designate the Mosaic covenant or the cove…
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standing. It was not an inward principle or power. It held up the rule of duty to which men were to be conformed, but it could not impart the disposition or ability to obey. It was, as it were, a mere writing or book. On the other hand, the gospel is spiritual, as distinguished from what was external and ritual. It is …
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law considered as a covenant of works ; that is, presenting the promise of life on the condition of perfect obedience. He represents it as saying, Do this and Hve ; as requiring Avorks, and not faith, as the condition of acceptance. Rom. 10, 5-10. Gal. 3, 10-12. He calls it a ministration of death and con- demnation. H…
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sin there is no concle]nn.'itioii, and wliere tliere is sin there is death. This is all that tliose who reject the gospel have to fall back upon. It is this principle which is rendered so prominent in the Mosaic economy as to give it its character of law. Viewed under this aspect it is the ministration of condemnation …
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7.8. But if the ministration of death, written (and) engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance ; wdiich (glory) was to be done away : how shall not the ministration of the Sphit be rather glorious ? It was tlie desig…
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accuracy in a single clause. The word StaKovta^ ministratioti^ means either the service^ i. e. the act of ministering, or the office of a hLaKovo<s or minister. Commonly the former. In what sense the ministry of the law was a ministry of death, and the reason why the law is described as engraven on stone, have already …
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the ministration committed to Paul ; and also from the reason assigned for the superiority of the latter, which is not what is to be realized in the future, but what is experienced in the present. It was because it is the ministration of the spirit that it is more glorious than the ministration of death. The ideas of l…
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a symbol of it. Second, Meyer and others, retaining the ordi- nary construction of the passage, make the apostle say, that the general truth that the lesser glory is eclipsed by the greater, was illustrated in this case, i. e. in the case of Moses and his ministry. This brings out the same sense as that given by the or…
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The clearness and freedom of the Gospel as contrasted with the ohscurity of the Law. Vs. 12-18. The apostle having referred to the transient brightness of Moses's face, as a symbol of the passing glory of his ministry, here employs the fact that Moses veiled his face as a twofold illustration. In the first place, it i…
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out reserve, a similar experience mil produce a similar open- ness and boldness in other ministers of the gospel. This in- deed is one of the glories of Christianity. It is characteristic of error to practise reserve and to seek concealment. In all the religions of antiquity there was an esoteric and exoteric doctrine …
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ministry, and therefore lie represents him as veiling himself, to express the idea that he communicated the truth obscurely. Paul was sent to let the truth shine forth clearly ; he did not put a veil over it as Moses did, and was commanded to do. That the children of Israel coulfd not steadfastly look to the end of tha…
491 wordsSource & rights
Public-domain historical edition (1860). Text from OCR of an original Internet Archive scan; OCR may contain recognition errors.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.