Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 2:6

"Sufficient to such a one is this punishment which was [inflicted] by the many;" — 2 Corinthians 2:6 (ASV)

The man referred to in these verses is almost certainly not the man guilty of incest (1 Corinthians 5; see comment on vv.10–11). Rather, after Paul’s painful visit some powerful insult had been directed against him or one of his representatives by a visitor to Corinth or by a Corinthian, who perhaps headed the opposition against Paul at Corinth and objected in particular to his disciplinary methods. The apostle here discounts the sorrow caused him by the unfortunate episode.

On the basis of Titus’s report about the Corinthian reaction to the severe letter , Paul counsels the church to terminate the discipline they had inflicted on the man in question. Whether a formal gathering of the church had been held and specific disciplinary measures had been decided on is impossible to say. The words rendered “the majority” (GK 4498) may simply mean “the main body,” referring generally to the membership. But what was the view of the implied minority? In light of v.7a, it seems likely that they were a proPauline clique, the “ultra-Paulinists,” who regarded the penalty as insufficient.