2 Corinthians · chapter 2 of 13
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2 Corinthians 2 shows Paul's pastoral heart. He explains that he wrote his earlier letter with tears and out of love, asks the church to forgive and comfort the one who had been disciplined, tells of his restlessness in Troas at not finding Titus and praises God, who leads him in triumph in Christ and spreads through him the fragrance of the knowledge of Christ.
Paul keeps explaining why he changed his plans. The relationship with Corinth had gone through a hard moment, and the apostle wants the Corinthians to understand his motives: love, not severity. The chapter joins two themes, forgiveness within the church and the greatness of the gospel ministry.
Paul explains that he decided not to come again in sorrow. If he grieves them, who is there to make him glad but the one whom he grieved? He wrote them a letter out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve them but to let them know the abundant love he has for them.
If anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved Paul so much as, in some measure, all of them. For such a person the punishment by the majority is enough. Now they should rather forgive and comfort him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow, and Paul urges them to reaffirm their love for him. He also wrote to test them and see whether they were obedient in everything. Anyone they forgive, Paul forgives, and does so in the presence of Christ, so that Satan will not gain an advantage over them, for they are not ignorant of his designs.
Paul tells how he came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door was opened for him in the Lord, but his spirit was not at rest because he did not find his brother Titus, so he said farewell and went on to Macedonia.
Then he bursts into thanksgiving: thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. We are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and those who are perishing: to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Paul asks who is sufficient for these things, and answers that they are not like so many who peddle God's word, but speak with sincerity, as commissioned by God and in the sight of God, in Christ.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul wrote out of great affliction, anguish and tears, not to grieve them but to let them know how much he loves them. True correction springs from love.
Now they should forgive and comfort the one who was disciplined, lest he be overwhelmed by sorrow, and reaffirm their love for him. The church's discipline aims to restore, not to destroy.
Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. The picture is a triumphal procession that leaves a perfume in its wake.
Paul says they are not like so many who peddle God's word, but speak with sincerity, from God and before God. A faithful messenger does not use the gospel for personal gain.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Out of much affliction, anguish of heart and many tears. — 2 Corinthians 2:4
Answer: To forgive him, comfort him and reaffirm their love for him. — 2 Corinthians 2:7-8
Answer: So that Satan will not gain an advantage over them, for they are not ignorant of his designs. — 2 Corinthians 2:10-11
Answer: Because he did not find his brother Titus. — 2 Corinthians 2:12-13
Answer: He always leads him in triumph and through him spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him. — 2 Corinthians 2:14
Answer: They do not peddle it like so many others. — 2 Corinthians 2:17
2 Corinthians 2 shows how to treat someone who has failed. Discipline without forgiveness can destroy; forgiveness without truth leaves things unchanged. Paul asks the church to reaffirm its love. A small group or Sunday school class can ask whether someone lacks the comfort of a community that receives them again.
It also reminds us that our witness has an effect on others, for good or ill. Living sincerely before God, without using faith for personal gain, leaves a fragrance of Christ. And when opposition wears us out, it remains true that God leads us in his triumph.
2 Corinthians 2 ends by asking who is sufficient for such a ministry. In chapter 3 Paul answers: sufficiency comes from God, who makes his servants ministers of a new covenant, that of the Spirit.
The text does not give his name. Some interpreters link him with the man disciplined in 1 Corinthians 5, but others think of someone who offended Paul or the church during a later crisis. What matters in the passage is that after discipline the church must forgive and comfort.
Paul uses the image of a victory parade, like those Roman generals held. Some understand Paul as comparing himself to a captive in the procession; others, to one who shares in Christ's triumph. In both cases the protagonist is Christ, and the effect is the fragrance of the gospel.
Because those who reject it are left without remedy for their sin, and the preaching becomes a testimony against them. For those who believe, it is a fragrance of life. Paul recognizes that how people respond does not depend on him, but he must be faithful.