FRAMEWORKS:
2 Corinthians 2
In
this ‘Framework' we use our usual text PLUS comment style to enable
you, as simply as possible, to catch the sense of his writing.
FRAMEWORKS:
2
Cor 2: Aspects of Ministry
v.1-4
Explanation of Disciplinary Words
v.5-11
Forgiveness for the Offender
v.12-17
Ministers of the New Covenant
[Chapter
Synopsis: Being
a godly leader means sometimes having to bring correction and
that is never easy, and that was why he had written as he had
in the previous letter, rather than come back with face to face
confrontation, but all of his words came with anguish for them.
He had had to confront the sinner and that always causes grief
in the body, but where repentance comes, forgiveness and affirmation
of love should always follow. Their ministry of sharing the gospel
is often hard, especially when some reject it.]
v.1-4
Explanation of Disciplinary Words
v.1
(he
didn't want his second visit to be painful) So
I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit
to you.
v.2
(he
didn't want to damage their relationship) For
if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have
grieved?
v.3
(he
had written so wrongs could be put right before he came again)
I
wrote as I did, so that when I came I would not be distressed
by those who should have made me rejoice. I had confidence in
all of you, that you would all share my joy.
v.4
(and
every word had been written in anguish for them) For
I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with
many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of
my love for you.
[Passage
Synopsis: There
had been cause for correction as the ‘first' letter shows. The
first year and a half visit had been good and so he didn't want
to spoil the memory of that by having to come with strong words
of face to face rebuke. So he had written as he did, perhaps to
give them time to absorb what he wrote and respond in repentance,
but he actually wrote in anguish that they had fallen to all those
sorts of errors.]
v.5-11
Forgiveness for the Offender
v.5
(when
one man sins it causes grief for the whole congregation)
If
anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has
grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely.
v.6
(having
to discipline adds to that grief) The
punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient.
v.7
(but
once repentance has come if must be followed by forgiveness)
Now
instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will
not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.
v.8
(and
with that a reaffirmation of their love) I
urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him.
v.9
(he
wrote so they could rise to the occasion) Another
reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and
be obedient in everything.
v.10,11
(when
they forgive, he forgives) Anyone
you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there
was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ
for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we
are not unaware of his schemes.
[Passage
Synopsis: Indirectly
referring to the man who had been sinning with his father's wife
[1 Cor 5:1] he suggests that such sin within the congregation
is a course of grief for the whole church, especially as they
had to discipline him, which is always difficult and painful.
But now repentance has come he is to be forgiven.]
v.12-17
Ministers of the New Covenant
v.12
(he
had moved on to Troas with the gospel) Now
when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found
that the Lord had opened a door for me,
v.13
(but
Titus wasn't there so he moved on to Macedonia) I
still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother
Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.
v.14
(but
the Lord, as always, blessed them, enabling them to share Him
there) But
thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's
triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge
of him everywhere.
v.15
(we're
like a scent of God for those being saved as well as a reminder
of Him to those who refuse the word and are perishing) For
we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are
being saved and those who are perishing.
v.16
(we
act on them in different ways, and that's a tough task) To
the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma
that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?
v.17
(and
we don't do it for profit but by calling) Unlike
so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary,
in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from
God.
[Passage
Synopsis: He
had travelled on to Macedonia where God opened the way for His
word to be shared. When they brought the gospel it came like an
aroma, a scent, an expression of the presence of God and for those
who would receive it, it brought life, but those who rejected
it, it brought death and, especially when it was rejected, that
made it a tough ministry.]
Chapter
Brief Summary/Recap:
Ch.
2: Aspects of Ministry
•
he had written to them before
out of anguish of heart
•
he refers to the sinner who has
now repented
•
the ministry of the gospel is
like sharing a life-bringing scent
•
yet sometimes it is a hard ministry
when it is rejected
Continue
to Chapter 3