had many good and staunch friends; and it was a suitable centre from which to visit the Christian communities formerly founded by him.}
10. Titus reported in the first instance that the Corinthians had loyally responded to the appeal made by St. Paul in 1 Cor. v. and vi. as to their treatment of the case of incest. They had taken the case into their own hands, and had punished the offender with extreme severity (2 Cor. ii. 6 ff.). They had gone so far in their zeal to assert the spiritual prerogative of the Church, in which St. Paul deemed himseif to have an important share (2 Cor. vii. 12; cf. 1 Cor. v. 4, συναχθέντων ὑμῶν καὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πνεύματος), that it was now desirable to offer counsels of forbearance (2 Cor. ii. 6 f.) rather than to inflame their indignation against the offender. The really important end which the Apostle had in view when writing 1 Cor. v. had been gained, υἱσ., he had convinced the members of the Church that it was their duty to take cognisance of grave moral offences. Quite possibly the civil courts might have decided equit- ably as to the measure of the penalty to be inflicted for the ἀδικία ; but the primary purpose of his sharp rebuke was not to secure due retribution in this particular instance (ody εἵνεκεν τοῦ ἀδικήσαντος οὐδὲ εἵνεκεν τοῦ ἀδικηθέντος, 2 Cor. vii. 12), although this was doubtless necessary, but to awaken the sleeping conscience of the Church to pass judgment in all cases of moral lapse, as was its inherent right and privilege. The Church at Corinth was an Apostolic Church. It had been founded by St. Paul. Though ‘‘absent in body” he was “present in spirit” at the deliberations of its members (1 Cor, v. 3). And to vindicate the spiritual authority of the Church founded by him was, in effect, to vindicate his authority. Thus he can go so far as to say that the main purpose of his stern letter of rebuke (1 Cor.) was ἕνεκεν τοῦ φανερωθῆναι τὴν σπουδὴν ὑμῶν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ (2 Cor. vii. 12, where see note). To manifest their zeal for St. Paul’s authority was to manifest their sense that Christian standards of living were widely different from heathen standards, and it was further to recognise that the Church has spiritual authority “to bind and to loose”. In exhibiting their zeal for him, their founder, they had made clear their recognition of this great principle. If it be said that to read this into 2 Cor. vii. 12 is to go beyond the tenor of the words used, it must be replied
1The subscription to 2 Corinthians, Πρὸς Κορινθίους δευτέρα ἐγράφη ἀπὸ Φιλίππων τῆς Μακεδονίας διὰ Τίτου καὶ Λουκᾶ, would be a confirmation of this conclusion, if any reliance could be placed on these colophons to the Epistles. See notes on 2 Cor. viii. 18, xiii. 14.