NOTES for Co2 7:1-9
1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. |
2 Receive us; we have wronged no man, we have corrupted no man, we have defrauded no man. |
3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you. |
4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. |
5 For, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troubled on every side; without were fightings, within were fears. |
6 Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus; |
7 And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more. |
8 For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. |
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. |
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Paul appeals to the Corinthian brothers with a request on behalf of himself and his companions: make room for us. In this way he continues the discussion of narrow and spacious hearts, calling those to whom he writes to widen their hearts.
The apostle says: if I rejoice, it is not because I have saddened any of you, but because our relationships remain unshaken, for they are rooted deeper than those emotional reactions that are entirely natural but do not touch the true spiritual depth, the very depth that Paul, following traditional usage, calls the heart. And he addresses first of all this spiritual depth, the person's true "I," the person as such, and not his outer coverings or passing states. The issue here is not only the desire to be understood and accepted.
The point is that genuine relationships between people are themselves a criterion of genuineness: of the genuineness of spiritual life and of life in general. Receiving the experience of real spiritual relationships, a person learns spiritual life as such and learns to distinguish what is real from what is superficial. He learns, in Paul's language, to widen his heart. This is what matters to the apostle: he wants his appearance and his activity in Corinth to contribute not to proving that he is right, for Paul has no need of self-assertion, but to the spiritual formation of his Corinthian brothers.
If they could now take the first step and accept the apostle as he came to them, so that the form in which Paul addresses them would not prevent them from receiving the meaning of what the apostle wants to say to them, they would widen their hearts. They would receive a new experience of genuine spiritual life. They would come closer to the Kingdom. And this means they would take another step on their Christian path. A step toward salvation.
Readings for 11 June 2025
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