Verse 4
4. Anguish of heart Arising from the scandal of the Corinthian disorders and the necessity of stern discipline.
Many tears Even of tenderness for those he rebuked.
That ye should be grieved Was the unavoidable result, but not the object desired. But that ye might have the moral elevation and high Christian magnanimity to know that even my severity was but a form of love.
This whole section is expressed in Paul’s most terse and sententious style, indicating a penetrative quickness in his readers at understanding his closely-wrapped meaning. Not less remarkable is the deep tenderness and delicacy of feeling, and the high moral platform on which Paul assumes that both he and his Corinthian readers stand. The same tenderness suffuses his words in regard to the incestuous offender, whose image now individualizes itself to his view.
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