John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 1

Paul an Apostle. Regarding the reasons why he designates himself an Apostle of Christ, and adds that he has obtained this honor by the will of God, see the previous Epistle. There, it was observed that we should listen only to those who have been sent by God and speak from his mouth. Consequently, to secure authority for anyone, two things are required: a call, and fidelity on the part of the person who is called in the execution of his office.

Paul claims both of these for himself. The false apostles, it is true, do the same; but by usurping a title that does not belong to them, they gain nothing among the sons of God, who can with the utmost ease convict them of presumption. Therefore, the mere name is not enough if the reality is not present along with it, so that he who presents himself as an Apostle must also show himself to be such by his work.

To the Church of God. We must always keep in mind his recognition that a Church existed where there was such a multitude of evils. For the faults of individuals do not prevent a society that has genuine marks of religion from being recognized as a Church. But what does he mean by the expression with all saints? Were those saints unconnected with the Church? I answer that this phrase refers to believers who were dispersed here and there, in various parts of the province—it is likely that in that greatly disturbed period, when the enemies of Christ were everywhere venting their rage, many were scattered abroad who could not conveniently hold sacred assemblies.

Blessed be God. He begins (as has been observed) with this thanksgiving: partly for the purpose of extolling the goodness of God; partly, with the view of animating the Corinthians by his example to the resolute endurance of persecutions; and partly, that he may magnify himself in a spirit of pious glorying, in opposition to the malignant slanders of the false apostles. For such is the depravity of the world that it treats with derision martyrdoms, which it ought to have held in admiration, and endeavors to find matter of reproach in the splendid trophies of the pious.

Blessed be God, he says. For what reason? Who comforteth us—the relative pronoun being used instead of a causal particle. He had endured his tribulations with fortitude and alacrity; this fortitude he ascribes to God, because it was due to the support derived from His consolation that he had not fainted.

He calls Him the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and not without good reason, when blessings are discussed; for where Christ is not, there the beneficence of God is not. On the other hand, where Christ intervenes,

by whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
(Ephesians 3:15)

there are all mercies and all consolations of God—indeed, more, there is fatherly love, the fountain from which everything else flows.

That we may be able to comfort. There can be no doubt that, as he had a little before cleared his afflictions from reproach and unfavorable reports, so now he instructs the Corinthians that his having emerged victorious through heavenly consolation was for their sake and with a view to their advantage, so that they might stir themselves up to fellowship in suffering, instead of haughtily despising his conflicts.

However, as the Apostle did not live for himself but for the Church, so he reckoned that whatever favors God conferred on him were not given merely for his own sake, but so that he might have greater ability to help others. And, unquestionably, when the Lord confers any favor on us, He, in a way, invites us by His example to be generous to our neighbors. Therefore, the riches of the Spirit are not to be kept to ourselves, but everyone must share with others what he has received.

This, it is true, applies chiefly to ministers of the Word. It is, however, common to all, according to the measure of each. Thus Paul here acknowledges that he had been sustained by the consolation of God, so that he himself might be able to comfort others.

For as the sufferings of Christ abound — This statement may be explained in two ways: actively and passively. If you take it actively, the meaning will be this: “The more I am tried with various afflictions, the more resources I have for comforting others.” I am, however, more inclined to take it in a passive sense, meaning that God multiplied His consolations according to the measure of His tribulations. David also acknowledges that this was his experience:

According to the multitude of my anxieties within me, says he,
Your consolations have delighted my soul (Psalms 94:19).

In Paul’s words, however, there is a fuller statement of doctrine, for he calls the afflictions of the pious the sufferings of Christ, as he says elsewhere:

that he fills up in his body what is lacking in the
sufferings of Christ (Colossians 1:24).

The miseries and vexations of the present life, it is true, are common to good and bad alike. However, when they befall the wicked, they are signs of God’s curse, because they arise from sin, and nothing appears in them except the anger of God and participation with Adam, which inevitably depresses the mind.

Meanwhile, believers are conformed to Christ and bear about with them in their body His dying, that the life of Christ may one day be manifested in them (2 Corinthians 4:10).

I speak of the afflictions believers endure for the testimony of Christ, (Revelation 1:9), for although the Lord’s chastisements, with which He chastises their sins, are beneficial to them, they are, nevertheless, not participants, properly speaking, in Christ’s sufferings, except in those cases in which they suffer on His account, as we find in 1 Peter 4:13.

Paul’s meaning, then, is that God is always present with him in his tribulations, and that his weakness is sustained by the consolations of Christ, preventing him from being overwhelmed by calamities.

Whether we are afflicted. From the fact that before the clause our hope of you is steadfast, the connecting particle and is introduced, Erasmus has formed the idea that some word must be understood to correspond with those words—for your consolation and salvation—in this way: whether we are afflicted, IT IS for your consolation. I think it, however, more probable that the connecting particle and is used here as meaning: Thus also, or in both cases. He had already stated that he received consolation so that he might communicate it to others.

Now he goes a step farther and says that he has a steadfast hope that they would be partakers of the consolation. Besides, some of the most ancient Greek manuscripts introduce this statement immediately after the first clause—and our hope of you is steadfast. This reading removes all ambiguity.

For when it is introduced in the middle, we must necessarily refer it to the latter clause, equally as to the former. At the same time, if anyone wishes to have a complete sentence in each clause by supplying some verb, there will be no great harm in this, and there will be no great difference as to the meaning. For if you read it as one continued statement, you must, at the same time, explain the different parts in this manner—that the Apostle is afflicted and is refreshed with consolation for the advantage of the Corinthians, and that he entertains, therefore, the hope that they will eventually be partakers of the same consolation that is in reserve for him. For my own part, I have adopted the way that I have judged more suitable.

It is, however, to be observed that the word afflicted here refers not merely to outward misery, but also to that of the mind, so as to correspond with the opposite term comforted (παρακαλεῖσθαι). Thus the meaning is that the person’s mind is pressed down with anxiety from a feeling of misery.

What we translate as consolation is in the Greek παράκλησις—a term that also signifies exhortation. If, however, you understand that kind of consolation by which a person’s mind is lightened of grief and raised above it, you will grasp Paul’s meaning.

For example, Paul himself would almost have fallen down dead under the pressure of so many afflictions if God had not encouraged him by raising him up through His consolation. Similarly, the Corinthians derive strength and fortitude of mind from his sufferings, while they take comfort from his example.

Let us now sum up the whole matter briefly. As he saw that some made his afflictions an occasion for holding him in contempt, intending to call the Corinthians back from an error of this nature, he first shows that he ought to be highly esteemed among them because of the advantage they gain. Then, afterwards, he associates them with himself, so that they might consider his afflictions as, in a way, their own.

“Whether I suffer afflictions or experience consolation, it is all for your benefit, and I cherish an assured hope that you will continue to enjoy this advantage.”

For Paul’s afflictions, and his consolations also, were such that they would have contributed to the edification of the Corinthians, had the Corinthians not, of their own accord, deprived themselves of the advantage resulting from it. Accordingly, he declares his confidence in the Corinthians to be such that he entertains the assured hope that his having been afflicted and having received consolation for their advantage will not be in vain.

The false apostles made every effort to turn everything that befell Paul into a reproach against him. Had they obtained their wish, the afflictions he endured for their salvation would have been vain and fruitless; they would have derived no advantage from the consolations with which the Lord refreshed him.

To such contrivances he opposes his present confidence. His afflictions tended to promote the comfort of believers, as they provided an occasion for confirmation when believers perceived that he suffered willingly and endured with fortitude so many hardships for the sake of the gospel.

For although we may acknowledge that we ought to endure afflictions for the sake of the gospel, we nevertheless tremble because we are conscious of our weakness and think ourselves unprepared for it. In that case, we should recall the examples of the saints, which should make us more courageous.

On the other hand, his personal consolation flowed out to the whole Church, since they concluded that God, who had sustained and refreshed him in his distress, would similarly not fail them. Thus their welfare was promoted in both ways, and this is what he introduces, as it were, parenthetically when he says—which is made effectual in the endurance, etc.

For he wished to add this clause as an explanation, so that they might not think that they had nothing to do with the afflictions which he alone endured.

Erasmus takes the participle γουμένης in an active sense, but a passive meaning is more suitable, as Paul simply intended to explain how everything that befell him was for their salvation. Accordingly, he says that he suffers, indeed, alone, but that his sufferings serve to promote their salvation—not as though they were expiations or sacrifices for sins, but as edifying them by confirming them. Hence he connects consolation and salvation to point out the way in which their salvation was to be accomplished.