The first four verses of this chapter are congruous with the end of chapter 1. And then v5-11 are a bit of an aside, before v12-13 return to the sincerity of Paul’s scheduling. Finally, v14 all the way to 2 Corinthians 7:5 are an appropriate teaching digression, namely to refute the false teachers’ accusations against Paul and his ministry. He’ll be laying out the motive, evidence for, and fruit of a true New Covenant gospel ministry. But Paul, after v13, leaves his audience in suspense regarding Titus’ arrival with news of the Corinthians acceptance of Paul’s discipline. Let’s take a look.
1) V1-4 – 1So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you. 2For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved? 3I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy. 4For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.
In context, Paul is explaining why he changed his travel plans from two short visits to one lengthier visit down the road. He wanted to give the Corinthians more time to repent. He mentions his painful prior visit and the purpose for the follow-up letter (missing), which Titus delivered (2:13; 7:6-7, 13-14). This letter, written out of deep love for them, was not to make them sorrowful, but repent! Mutual joy would be the result; Paul’s unity with the Corinthians was such that their repentance and joy would lead to his joy, but their extended sorrow would have been distressful for him.
So we see that Paul’s motive was pure and his purposes were good: to bring repentance for them and mutual joy, as well as to prove his love for them. For application, we ought to seek genuine joy for others in our congregation, which comes from humble repentance, out of our authentic love for them and for the sake of our own joy, being one body in Christ. While we don’t want to grieve others for that end, we do realize that godly sorrow brings repentance unto life – and that’s a joyful thought!
2) V5-11 – 5If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent – not to put it too severely. 6The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven – if there was anything to forgive – I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
Some say that Paul referred to the man from 1 Corinthians 5:1-8 here, but most think he’s referring to someone else who directly offended Paul from within their congregation. The difference of opinion is based on the numbering of the Corinthian letters (1-2, or 1-4) and the speculation over the details of each of Paul’s trips to Corinth. Either way, the Corinthians disciplined this man, and now they need to restore him. Perhaps they were continuing to repress him for Paul’s sake, even waiting for Paul to discipline him further when he came. But Paul says, “If you forgive [him, then so do I].” It was primarily the Corinthians’ responsibility to forgive this man, not Paul’s, because the grieving was primarily against them and not him (v5). The proper correction had been made, and so there comes a point where disciplinary action ends and consolation and restoration begin. Since Christ is present, balancing proper discipline with forgiveness is crucial. The matter needs to be wrapped up so Satan can’t claim victory in their disunity and repression (v11). Notice that Paul forgives for their sake! He’s granting his approval to their authority in the matter, for he desires no hesitance in restoration. Ephesians 4:26 says, “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.” Make it right!
But how can such a grievous sin be made right? Jesus paid for the sins of His people, and His people are recognized by their humble repentance. If this man revealed genuine humility and sincere repentance, then Jesus has done away with his sin, and he is a new creation. If God has forgiven him, surely the Corinthians ought to do the same! Sam Storms writes, “Philip Hughes reminds us that ‘discipline which is so inflexible as to leave no place for repentance and reconciliation has ceased to be truly Christian; for it is no less a scandal to cut off the penitent sinner from all hope of re-entry into the comfort and security of the fellowship of the redeemed community than it is to permit flagrant wickedness to continue unpunished in the Body of Christ’.” As the Lord’s Prayer teaches and beseeches, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Consider this true tale of this kind of forgiveness told by Robert Rayburn:
“A Turkish officer raided and looted an Armenian home. He killed the aged parents and gave the daughters to the soldiers, keeping the eldest daughter for himself. Some time later she escaped and trained as a nurse. As time passed, she found herself nursing in a ward of Turkish officers. One night, by the light of a lantern, she saw the face of this officer. He was so gravely ill that without exceptional nursing he would die. The days passed, and he recovered. One day, the doctor stood by the bed with her and said to him, ‘But for her devotion to you, you would be dead.’ He looked at her and said, ‘We have met before, haven’t we?’ ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘we have met before.’ ‘Why didn’t you kill me?’ he asked. She replied, ‘I am a follower of Him who said, ‘Love your enemies.’” [Wainwright, Doxology, 434]
3) V12-17 – 12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, 13I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-by to them and went on to Macedonia. 14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God.
In v12-13, we see that Paul could have stayed and ministered in Troas, but since Titus wasn’t there to meet him, he went on to Macedonia (Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica – Acts 16:8-18:1), hoping for news of how the Corinthians had responded to that painful follow up letter to the sorrowful visit. Paul couldn’t visit them before hearing how they had responded to his sorrowful letter. Yet he had single-mindedness in love for them, so much so that he didn’t walk through a door that the Lord had opened for him in Troas! Instead he chose a different path – heading to Macedonia hoping for word from Titus – which was okay too. Earlier, he had remained in Ephesus because of an open door in 1 Corinthians 16:9. The application for us is that we can do what we want when the options are all good according to God, good for others, and good for us.
In fact, from v14, we might conclude that Paul was led to leave Troas for Macedonia by Christ Himself (1 Corinthians 4:9). There are many views of the “leading in triumphal procession” part of v14. Paul’s conscience (“peace of mind”) was troubled by uncertainty about the Corinthians, which seemed to prevent his normal ministerial efforts. But in making his way to Macedonia, it appears that “the fragrance of the knowledge of” Christ (v14) spread everywhere thanks to the Lord’s leading. Paul isn’t boasting in his own efforts, but in God’s faithfulness to work effectively through his efforts. And he mentions this for the benefit of the Corinthians, that they might see God’s success through him and trust Him more fully. Calvin comments, “The triumph consisted in this, that God, through His instrumentality, wrought powerfully and gloriously, perfuming the world with the health-giving odor of His grace, while, by means of His doctrine, He brought some to the knowledge of Christ.”
At this point, Paul digresses until 2 Corinthians 7:5, where he’ll pick back up on the narrative of his relationship with the Corinthians – the suspense until Titus arrives in Macedonia! In v14, Paul shifts the focus from his own anxiety over the Corinthians’ response to the nature of the New Covenant ministry in which he is engaged. He sees himself as part of God’s victory parade – a joyful servant celebrating the King’s triumphant procession home from battle. Paul’s focus seems to always be on the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
In v15, Paul hints at the “living sacrifices” we are to be in Romans 12:1. We are sweet smelling incense to our Father in Heaven, while unbelievers smell like death because they don’t live for or celebrate Him (v16a). Calvin says, “Both odors are grateful to God – that by which the elect are refreshed unto salvation, and that from which the wicked receive a deadly shock.” Robert Rayburn reminds us, “It is not up to us, of course, whether our life and our words will be an aroma of life or of death. We cannot help it being one or the other but only the Lord determines which it will be. As William Gurnall the Puritan put it long ago: ‘God never laid it upon thee to convert those he sends thee to. No; to publish the gospel is thy duty…. God judgeth not of His servants’ work by the success of their labour, but by their faithfulness to deliver His message.’” And Spurgeon notes, “The gospel is preached in the ears of all; it only comes with power to some. The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher; otherwise men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher's learning; otherwise it would consist in the wisdom of men. We might preach till our tongues rotted, till we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it – the Holy Ghost changing the will of man. O Sirs! We might as well preach to stone walls as to preach to humanity unless the Holy Ghost be with the Word, to give it power to convert the soul.”
Paul reminds of everyone’s unworthiness before God in v16b. No one is worthy to represent the gospel, but God qualifies us (3:6). This rhetorical question gets to the heart of Paul’s chastisement of the false teachers in Corinth. They claimed to be worthy! Paul says his Spirit-filled ministry is sincere, while the void and even doctrine-corrupting ministry of others is solely for profit (cf. 1 Timothy 3:8). Sam Storms says, “The word translated ‘peddling’ (kapeleuo) is found only here in the NT… The related noun form (kapelos) was virtually synonymous with the idea of a ‘merchant’ who regularly cheated his customers by misrepresenting his product in order to increase his profit. Thus the idea is of someone who tampers with the gospel, perhaps eliminating (or at least minimizing) its offensive elements, or altering certain theological points, so that the finished ‘product’ will be more appealing to the audience. Their aim is obviously to gain as large a following as possible.” That’s the tragedy of v17. Many preachers preach solely for the sake of earning fame and/or fortune. God’s glory should be the motive, and God saw that Paul’s was clear (1:12; Acts 23:1; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 1:3).
Calvin concludes: “Whoever has the three following things, is in no danger of forming the purpose of corrupting the word of God. The first is that we be actuated by a true zeal for God. The second is that we bear in mind that it is His business that we are transacting, and bring forward nothing but what has come from Him. The third is that we consider, that we do nothing of which He is not the witness and spectator, and thus learn to refer every thing to His judgment.”