2 Corinthians 7:1
ταύτας οὖν ἔχοντες τὰς ἐπαγγελίας, ἀγαπητοί, καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ θεοῦ.
2 Corinthians 7:2
Χωρήσατε ἡμᾶς· οὐδένα ἠδικήσαμεν, οὐδένα ἐφθείραμεν, οὐδένα ἐπλεονεκτήσαμεν.
2 Corinthians 7:3
πρὸς κατάκρισιν οὐ λέγω, προείρηκα γὰρ ὅτι ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν ἐστε εἰς τὸ συναποθανεῖν καὶ συζῆν.
2 Corinthians 7:4
πολλή μοι παρρησία πρὸς ὑμᾶς, πολλή μοι καύχησις ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν· πεπλήρωμαι τῇ παρακλήσει, ὑπερπερισσεύομαι τῇ χαρᾷ ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει ἡμῶν.
2 Corinthians 7:5
Καὶ γὰρ ἐλθόντων ἡμῶν εἰς Μακεδονίαν οὐδεμίαν ἔσχηκεν ἄνεσιν ἡ σὰρξ ἡμῶν, ἀλλ’ ἐν παντὶ θλιβόμενοι— ἔξωθεν μάχαι, ἔσωθεν φόβοι—
2 Corinthians 7:6
ἀλλ’ ὁ παρακαλῶν τοὺς ταπεινοὺς παρεκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ Τίτου·
2 Corinthians 7:7
οὐ μόνον δὲ ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τῇ παρακλήσει ᾗ παρεκλήθη ἐφ’ ὑμῖν, ἀναγγέλλων ἡμῖν τὴν ὑμῶν ἐπιπόθησιν, τὸν ὑμῶν ὀδυρμόν, τὸν ὑμῶν ζῆλον ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ὥστε με μᾶλλον χαρῆναι.
2 Corinthians 7:8
ὅτι εἰ καὶ ἐλύπησα ὑμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ, οὐ μεταμέλομαι· εἰ καὶ μετεμελόμην (βλέπω ὅτι ἡ ἐπιστολὴ ἐκείνη εἰ καὶ πρὸς ὥραν ἐλύπησεν ὑμᾶς),
because if even I grieved you by my letter, I do not regret [it]. If even I did regret [it]; I see that that letter if even to hour it grieved you.
Paraphrase: I must confess that, at first, I was sorry that I had sent such a severe letter. When I realized how badly it hurt you, I began to second guess myself and to wonder if I should have sent it. Now, however, having heard from Titus, I realize that it was the right thing to do. Now I am so glad to hear that your sorrow did not cripple you, even though for a short time, you were badly hurt by it.
Comments:
Of this letter, see Wallace.
2 Corinthians 7:9
νῦν χαίρω, οὐχ ὅτι ἐλυπήθητε, ἀλλ’ ὅτι ἐλυπήθητε εἰς μετάνοιαν, ἐλυπήθητε γὰρ κατὰ θεόν, ἵνα ἐν μηδενὶ ζημιωθῆτε ἐξ ἡμῶν.
Now I rejoice, not because you were grieved but because you were grieved unto repentance, for you were grieved according to God in order that in nothing you might suffer loss from us.
Paraphrase: Instead, your sorrow led you to real and genuine repentance which is the happiest result possible. Now I see that your grief was a God-honoring sorrow and that my letter did you no harm.
Comments:
2 Corinthians 7:10
ἡ γὰρ κατὰ θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον ἐργάζεται· ἡ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου λύπη θάνατον κατεργάζεται.
For the according to God grief works repentance unto salvation without regret, but the grief of the world works death.
Paraphrase: The reason my letter did you no harm is because it brought you to a God-honoring grief. This is the kind of sorrow which God produces in you. (Acts 5:31) It’s the kind of sorrow that He approves of. (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 66:2) It’s the kind of sorrow which leads you to God. How radically different this sorrow is from worldly sorrow. The world’s sorrow leads them to a crippling despair (Hebrews 12:16-17) and finally to death itself. (Matthew 27:5)
Comments:
2 Corinthians 7:11
ἰδοὺ γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ κατὰ θεὸν λυπηθῆναι πόσην κατειργάσατο ὑμῖν σπουδήν, ἀλλὰ ἀπολογίαν, ἀλλὰ ἀγανάκτησιν, ἀλλὰ φόβον, ἀλλὰ ἐπιπόθησιν, ἀλλὰ ζῆλον, ἀλλὰ ἐκδίκησιν· ἐν παντὶ συνεστήσατε ἑαυτοὺς ἁγνοὺς εἶναι τῷ πράγματι.
For behold this very thing, the according to God to be grieved, how great an earnestness it worked in you, yes how great a defense, yes how great an indignation, yes how great a fear, yes how great a longing, yes how great a zeal, yes how great a vengeance; in all things, you have demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in this matter.
Paraphrase: Just look at where this sorrow led you. Just as God intended, you actually became very angry with your sin. You were outraged that it had gained a victory, and you were bent on revenge. Good for you! Praise God! I am so delighted to see your zeal and your complete unwillingness to let sin get even its foot in the door. This is the only way to deal with sin and Satan; they must be destroyed! We refuse to make any treaty or compromise with them. (Matthew 18:9) Now in this, you have shown your true heart. You did the right thing in removing this man from your assembly (1 Corinthians 5:1) and thus brought honor to the Name of Christ and made a public display of your resolve to walk in God’s ways.
Comments:
See Winer (p200) on αὐτὸ τοῦτο and BBG 12.10.
Note the use of ἀλλα here. It is often called the copulative use of this conjunction, the idea being that additional elements are added to the original thought.
2 Corinthians 7:12
ἄρα εἰ καὶ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν, οὐχ ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀδικήσαντος, οὐδὲ ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀδικηθέντος, ἀλλ’ ἕνεκεν τοῦ φανερωθῆναι τὴν σπουδὴν ὑμῶν τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ.
Therefore, if even I wrote to you, not because of he who did wrong, neither because of he who was wronged, but because to manifest to you, your zeal, which [is] for us before God.
Paraphrase: Now my purpose in writing such a severe letter to you was not to drag the offending man’s name (1 Corinthians 5:1) through the mud. Nor was it even my goal to ensure that this man’s father received justice although that is certainly appropriate. My goal was to make it clear to you all that you really are loyal to us and true to the teaching which we gave you. Before God and men, we can now say with certainty that your response to my letter proves that you are full citizens of the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Comments:
2 Corinthians 7:13
διὰ τοῦτο παρακεκλήμεθα. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῇ παρακλήσει ἡμῶν περισσοτέρως μᾶλλον ἐχάρημεν ἐπὶ τῇ χαρᾷ Τίτου, ὅτι ἀναπέπαυται τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ πάντων ὑμῶν·
2 Corinthians 7:14
ὅτι εἴ τι αὐτῷ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν κεκαύχημαι, οὐ κατῃσχύνθην, ἀλλ’ ὡς πάντα ἐν ἀληθείᾳ ἐλαλήσαμεν ὑμῖν, οὕτως καὶ ἡ καύχησις ἡμῶν ἡ ἐπὶ Τίτου ἀλήθεια ἐγενήθη.
2 Corinthians 7:15
καὶ τὰ σπλάγχνα αὐτοῦ περισσοτέρως εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐστιν ἀναμιμνῃσκομένου τὴν πάντων ὑμῶν ὑπακοήν, ὡς μετὰ φόβου καὶ τρόμου ἐδέξασθε αὐτόν.
2 Corinthians 7:16 χαίρω ὅτι ἐν παντὶ θαρρῶ ἐν ὑμῖν.