The Word Made Fresh
1These things have been promised, friends, so let’s stay away from those things that contaminate body and spirit, and perfect our holiness through the fear of God.
2Make room in your hearts for us, for we have done wrong to no one, nor have we demeaned or taken advantage of anyone. 3I’m not accusing you of anything. I told you that you are in our hearts. We will live together, and we will die together. 4I often brag about you, and I am proud of you. I wish to console you, for you bring me joy in every affliction.
5When we came to Macedonia we had had no rest and we were greatly troubled over arguments and inner fears. 6But God gives peace to the downcast, and we were consoled by the arrival of Titus, 7because he told us of your longing to see me, and that made me even happier. 8Even if I made you sorrow because of my letter, I don’t regret it. I did regret it at first because I saw that I had brought you grief, if only temporarily. 9But now I celebrate, not over your grief, but because you repented. You grieved out of your faith in God, and weren’t harmed by us in any way. 10Godly grief makes us repent, and that leads to salvation. It should bring no regrets, but worldly grief leads to death. 11Just look at the honesty this grief has brought you! You have become eager to find forgiveness, and were alarmed to the point of being punished through your zeal and longing. You have proved yourselves in every way. 12I did write to you, but it wasn’t because of the one who did the wrong or the one who was wronged. It was so that you might see before God your devotion to us, 13and we are comforted by this.
Then, too, we were consoled even more and rejoiced with Titus because you have set his mind at rest. 14I may have boasted about you to him, but I haven’t been disgraced. Everything we told you was the truth, and our boasting to Titus proved true as well. 15His heart is drawn to you even more because he remembers your obedience, and how you welcomed him with fear and trembling. 16And I rejoice also because I am completely confident in you.
Commentary
1: Isn’t the prospect of God claiming us as his children enough to make us want to “stay away from those things that contaminate body and spirit?” Paul obviously thinks it is.
2-4: Again, Paul insists on his and Timothy’s purity of intent in all their dealings with the Corinthians, and claims great pride in them.
5-12: There is no real consensus among scholars as to whether the earlier letter mentioned in this passage became what we know as 1 Corinthians or another letter that has not survived. 1 Corinthians was a bit judgmental, and Paul may well have regretted writing some of the things that are in it. In any case Titus was apparently dispatched to monitor the situation in Corinth and brought the news to Paul in Macedonia that the Corinthians, though dismayed by the letter, had eventually taken it to heart and had repented of some of the charges Paul had made. Titus, of course, was an important student and companion of Paul’s, as was Timothy. Most commentators hold that he is not the Titius (or Titus) Justus of Corinth mentioned at Acts 18:7, but it seems to me that there are no irrefutable arguments against such a conclusion. We know in any case that Titus was a Gentile Christian and that he accompanied Paul to Jerusalem on one occasion (see Galatians 2:1, 3). Although Paul’s letter to Titus is preserved as part of our Bible, 2 Timothy 4:10 hints that there may have been a rift between Paul and Titus at one point.
13-16: Nevertheless, at the writing of this letter Paul and Titus are congenial companions.
Takeaway
Paul apologizes in this chapter, saying he’s sorry for some of the things he had written in a previous chapter. “I’m sorry” are two of the most powerful words in the English language to heal a harm. They are the first step toward reconciliation. Never be sorry to say, “I’m sorry.”