The Word Made Fresh
1That’s why I decided not to make another painful visit to you. 2After all, if I cause you pain, there is no one there to gladden me but the one I have hurt. 3I wrote what I did so that when I come I might not be hurt by those who should give me cause to rejoice. For I am confident that all of you will share my joy. 4I wrote to you in distress. My heart was in anguish, and I shed many tears. I didn’t want to hurt you, but only to let you know how much I love you.
5If anyone has caused pain, it didn’t hurt me, but all of you, at least to some extent, though I don’t want to exaggerate it. 6Being punished by the majority is enough for anyone to bear, 7and now you ought to forgive that person and comfort him so that he won’t be overwhelmed with sorrow. 8I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9The reason I wrote to you was to test you, and learn if you are obedient in all things. 10Anyone you forgive, I forgive. If I have forgiven anything, it has been for your sake, as Christ is my witness. 11We do this to avoid being outfoxed by Satan – we are well aware of his tactics.
12The Lord opened a door for me when I came to Troas to preach the good news of Christ. 13But I didn’t find my brother Titus there, and my mind couldn’t rest, so I said goodbye and headed on to Macedonia.
14But thanks be to God for leading us triumphantly in Christ, and using us to spread the sweetness that comes from knowing him. 15After all, we are to spread the sweetness of Christ to those who are being saved and to those who are perishing – 16to one, a sweetness from death to death, and to the other from life to life. Who is able to do this? 17We aren’t peddlers of God’s word like some others, but we speak sincerely in Christ, as those who are sent from God and who stand in God’s presence.
Commentary
1-4: The reason he thinks a visit might be painful is because he realizes that his last letter was hurtful, although he insists that it was written out of his love for them.
5-11: Here is another tantalizing hint of inner conflict at Corinth about which we can only guess. Notice, though, how different is the tone of this letter from the first one. In 1 Corinthians Paul was ready to excommunicate the opposition willy-nilly. Now, however, he urges them to “forgive and console” someone who not only opposed but insulted him! Even the great “Apostle to the Gentiles” must continue to grow in love and in Christlikeness.
12-13: Troas, a coastal town at the westernmost point of Asia Minor (today’s Turkey), is mostly remembered as the place where the young man Eutychus fell asleep during Paul’s sermon and toppled out of a second-story window (Acts 20:7-12). It is not clear why he mentions Troas and his visit to Macedonia at this point in the letter, but Paul remembers that his reason for leaving Troas, despite opportunities there (“a door was opened for me in the Lord”), was his disappointment that he could not find Titus.
14-17: The “triumphal procession” has two comparisons. First, to his Greek readers, it is an image of a parade for a general and his troops who have triumphed in battle. Second, from his Jewish heritage, it is an image of the glad procession to the temple to celebrate God’s acts on behalf of God’s people. Regardless of anything that happens, he says, Christians are to celebrate the triumph of Christ. For those who oppose Christ, Christians are like the smell of death, but for those who believe, they are the fragrance of life. Who can handle such a responsibility? He answers the question by contrasting his tent-making ministry with those who profit from their preaching.
Takeaway
Learn to embrace those who disagree with you; that’s what Paul is doing here. Many of the world’s problems would be resolved if we simply treated everyone with respect.