The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 5

tenanoes of those who the.nk him for his them. What ho hl\d to 111y to them o.nd of e.nswer to their prayers on his hehA.lf. The them was here set forth without !\DY sub- word for "gift" is chm-isma, whioh means terfuges or arriere,s pens,fos. Ho had nothing a gift of grace, a gift of the Spirit (1 Cor. esoterio which differed from cxoteric teaching. xii. 4). It is a melnncholy thought the.t evon such Vers. 12-H.-Vindication of his right to " ono as Paul was reduced to the sad their sympathy. necessity of defending himself ngninst such Ver. 12.-For our rejoioing; rather, for charges ns that he intrigued with individu11l 01tr boa.•ting is this. My expression of oon- members of his Churches, wrote private fidence in your sympA.thy with me may letters or sent secret mcssnges which differed sound like e. boast, but my boast merely in tone from those which were re11d in the accords with the testimony of my conscience public assembly. Or acknowledge ; r11ther that I have been sincere and honest to e.11, or even fully lcnoto; i.e. from other sources'. and most of all to you. The testimony of The paronomasia of the original cannot be our oonscience. To this St. Paul frequently preserved in English, but in Lntin would be nppoo.ls (Acts xxiii. 1; xxiv. 16; Rom. ix. 1; "Qum legitis aut etiam intelligitis." And 1 Cor. iv. 4). In simplicity; rather, in holi- I trust ... even to the end; rather, but I ness. The best reading is ;,,,,dr11r, (~, A, hope that, even unto Ille end, ye will full !I B, C, K), not a,r>-.dr11r,. "Holiness" seems knoto-even as ye fully lcnew us in part-that to have been altered to "simplicity," both we are your subject of boast. After telling on dogmatic grounds e.nd because it is a them th11t they he.ve in this letter his rare word, only occurring in Heb. xii. 10. genuine and inmost thoughts, he adds tLat And godly sincerity; literally, sincerity of "even as some of them (for this seem to be God; i.e. sincerity which is a gift of Divine implied by the 'in pa.rt') already knew grace (comp. "peace of God," Phil. iv. well that the mutual l'Clations between him 7; "righteousness of God," Rom. i. 17). l\nd them were something wherein to glory, For the word nsed for "sincerity," see note he hopes that tLey will appreciate thi~ fact on 1 Cor. v. 8. Not with fleshly wisdom even to the end," He lcnows that som~ (oomp. eh. ii. 17; 1 Cor. ii. 4), but by the honour him; he hopes that all will do so ; grace of God. The preposition in both but he can only express this as a hope, for clauses is "in." The grace of God was the he is a.ware the.t there are calnmnies abroad atmosphere which the apostle breathed, the respecting him, so that he cannot feel sure sphere in which Le worked. We have had of their unbroken allegiance. Such seems our conversation. We lived and moved, to be the meaning; but the state of mind in The word "oonversation" origine.lly meant which St. Paul wrote has evidently troubled "mode of life," and is nsed to translate both his style, and his expressions are less lucid anastrophe and politeuma, which means pro- and more difficult to unravel in this Epistle perly "citizenship." The exclusive modern than in any other. 7'o the end. The ex- sense of "conversation" is not earlier the.n pression is quite general, like our "to tho the last century. In the world; i.e. in my last." He does not seem definitely to imply general life as reg:l.l'ds all men. More abllll- either to the end of his life or to the coming dantly to you-ward. Sincerity, holiness, the of Christ, which they regarded as the end of signs of the grace of God. were specially e.Hthings, e.s in 1 Cor, i. 8; xv. 24; Heh. iii. 6. shown by the apostle towards the Corin- Ver. 14.-In pa.rt, Not as a whole thians, because they were specially needed Church. Some only of the Corinthians bad to guide his relations towards a Church been faithful to his tenching and to himself. which inspired him with deep e.ffection, (For the phrase, see Rom. xi, 25; xv, 15, 21; but which required specie.I wisdo!Il to guide 1 Cor. xi. 18; xii. 27; xiii. 9.) Bejoioing; and go.-em. The fact that, in spite of all rather, ground of boast, as in eh, ix. 3; Rom. bis exceptional care, snch bitter taunts oould iv. 2, "wLereof to glory;" l Cor. v. 6. In still be le.-elled at him, shows that he had not ver. 12 the substnntive means "the act of been mistaken in supposing that no Church rejoicing." 'I'he word is characteristic of this required from him a more anxious watch- group of Epistles, in which it occurs forty-six fulness over all bis oonduct. times. Even as ye e.lso ore ours. This claus9 Ver. 13.-For we write none other things takes away all semblance of eolf-glorification._ Ullto yon, etc. Remarks like these obviously In 1 'l'hees. ii. 19, 20 and Phil. ii. 16 he ex- presuppose that the conduct and character of presses the natura.l thought that a teacher's St. Paul bad been misrepresented and calum- oonverts are, and will be in the last day, hie niated. 'I'he perpetual recurrence to a strain "crown of exultation." Here alone ho im- of self-defence would have been needless if pli(js that they mny glory in him as he in ROme one-probably 'I'it11B-he.d not told St. them. 'fho thought, however, so for frnm Paul tl1t1.t his opponents e.ccused him of in- being egol;isti<'al, merely indicates the in- aincerity. Here, therefore, he tells them that tense inte,rcommuuion of sympathy which lie is opening out his very heart towards existed botween him and them. Ho doc, os. t. 1-24.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. Ci