Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

In these verses, 1. The apostle proceeds in giving an account of the reason why he did not come to Corinth, as was expected; namely, because he was unwilling to grieve them, or be grieved by them, 2 Cor. 2:1, 2. He had determined not to come to them in heaviness, which yet he would have done had he come and found scandal among them not duly animadverted upon: this would have been cause of grief both to him and them, for their sorrow or joy at meeting would have been mutual. If he had made them... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:3

And I wrote this same unto you ,.... Not what he had written in the preceding verse, or in 2 Corinthians 1:23 , where he says, that his not coming to them as yet was to spare them; but what he had written to them in his former epistle, concerning the excommunication of the incestuous man, which had so much grieved both him and them; and this the apostle chose rather to order by writing, than in person; hoping to hear of their repentance and amendment, before he came among them: lest ,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:3

And I wrote this same unto you - This I particularly marked in my first epistle to you; earnestly desiring your reformation, lest, if I came before this had taken place, I must have come with a rod, and have inflicted punishment on the transgressors. See 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 . My joy is the joy of you all - I know that ye wish my comfort as much as I wish yours. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - 2 Corinthians 2:3

Verse 3 3.I had written to you. As he had said a little before, that he delayed coming to them, in order that he might not come a second time in sorrow and with severity, (2 Corinthians 2:1,) so now also he lets them know, that he came the first time in sadness by an Epistle, that they might not have occasion to feel this severity when he was present with them. Hence they have no ground to complain of that former sadness, in which he was desirous to consult their welfare. He goes even a step... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

The sorrow of faithful love. The apostle has still in mind the unfaithful member who had brought so sad a disgrace upon the whole Church. His conduct in the matter, especially in changing his mind when he was fully expected at Corinth, had been misrepresented, and made the occasion of accusations against him as a fickle-minded, self-willed man. He therefore here explains why he did not visit Corinth while it remained uncertain how the offending member would be treated. He had no thought... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:1-11

The uniting force of Christian love. "But I determined this with myself," etc. The subject which these words suggest is the uniting force of Christian love. We see it here uniting all its subjects in a common sympathy, a common punishment, and a common forgiveness. Here is Christian love— I. UNITING ALL ITS SUBJECTS IN A COMMON SYMPATHY . "But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:1-11

Further explanations and directions touching matters lust discussed. The most copious writer in the New Testament is the man whose inward constitution and life are most fully brought into view. If the fact itself is noteworthy, the art of its management is even more significant. Didactic treatises would have excluded this method of blending the abstract and the concrete, and therefore the epistolary form which St. Paul adopted. What do we mean by this form? Much more, indeed, than a facile... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:3

And I wrote this same unto you. And I wrote . He meets the tacit objection. If you shrink from causing us pain, why then did you write to us in terms so severe? The "I wrote" may be what is called the epistolary aorist, and will then be equivalent to our "I write:" "What I write to you now has the very object of sparing you a painful visit." If the aorist has its more ordinary sense, it refers to the First, and not to the present Epistle; and this seems the better view, for the "I... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 2 Corinthians 2:3-4

Sympathy in grief and joy. How far from a formal or mechanical ministry was that of the apostle! He entered into the circumstances and the feelings of those for whom he had laboured. Nothing which affected their interests was indifferent to him. Some in his position would have said, "We have done our duty; it is no affair of ours how they act; why should we trouble ourselves regarding them?" Not so St. Paul. When the Corinthians acted unworthily, his sensitive heart was distressed; when... read more

Grupo de Marcas