Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 12:15

"And I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less?" — 2 Corinthians 12:15 (ASV)

And I will very gladly spend. I am willing to spend my strength, time, life, and all that I have for your welfare, just as a father cheerfully does for his children. I am willing to submit to any expense that may be necessary to promote your salvation.

A father's labor for his children is cheerful and pleasant. Such is his love for them that he delights in toiling for their sake, so that he may make them happy. The toil of a pastor for his flock should also be cheerful. He should be willing to engage in unceasing efforts for their welfare; and if he has the right spirit, he will find pleasure in that toil.

He will not grudge the time demanded; he will not be grieved that it exhausts his strength or his life, any more than a father who toils for his family. And just as the pleasures of a father laboring for his children are among the purest and most pleasant that people ever enjoy, so it is with a pastor.

Perhaps, on the whole, the most pleasant employment in life is that connected with the pastoral office; the happiest moments known on earth are in the duties of the pastoral relation, arduous as they are. God thus, as in the relation of a father, blends toil and pleasure together, and accompanies the most arduous labors with present and abundant reward.

Be spent. This means to be exhausted and worn out in my labors. This is the meaning of the Greek word. Paul was willing for his powers to be entirely exhausted and his life consumed in this service.

For you. As noted in the margin, the Greek is for your souls. It should have been rendered this way, and Tyndale translates it so. The meaning is that he was willing to become completely exhausted if, by it, he might secure the salvation of their souls.

Though the more abundantly I love you, etc. This is doubtless intended as a gentle reproof. It refers to the fact that despite the tender attachment he had shown for them, they had not demonstrated the love in return that he had a right to expect. It is possible that there may be an allusion to the case of a fond, doting parent.

It sometimes happens that a parent focuses his affections to an excessive degree on one of his children; and in such cases, it is not uncommon for that child to show special ingratitude and a lack of love.

This may be the allusion here: Paul had fixed his affections on them like a fond, doting father and had met with a return that in no way corresponded with the fervor of his attachment. Yet, like such a father, he was still willing to exhaust his time and strength for their welfare.

The doctrine is that we should be willing to labor and toil for the good of others, even when they show great ingratitude. The proper purpose of laboring for their welfare is not to arouse their gratitude but to obey the will of God. No matter whether others are grateful or not, whether they love us or not, or whether we can promote our popularity with them or not, let us always do them good. Endeavoring to benefit others when they love us less for all our attempts better demonstrates the firmness of our Christian principle than attempting to do good on the swelling tide of popular favor.