John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 1:13

"For we write no other things unto you, than what ye read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end:" — 2 Corinthians 1:13 (ASV)

For we write no other things. Here he indirectly reproves the false apostles, who recommended themselves by immoderate boasting, while they had little or no ground for it. At the same time, he counters slanders, so that no one might object that he claims for himself more than he is due. He says, therefore, that he does not in words boast of anything that he is not prepared to substantiate by his actions, and this from the testimony of the Corinthians.

The ambiguity of the words, however, has led to this passage being misinterpreted. Αναγινώσκειν, among the Greeks, sometimes signifies to read, and at other times to recognize. Επιγινώσκειν sometimes signifies to discover, while at other times it means what the Latins properly express by the verb agnoscere, to own, as among lawyers the phrase is used to own a child, as Budaeus also has observed. In this way ἐπιγινώσκειν means more than ἀναγινώσκειν. For we say that a person recognises a thing—that is, being silently convinced of it in his judgment, he perceives it to be true—while at the same time he does not acknowledge it, or, in other words, sincerely express his agreement with it.

Let us now examine Paul’s words. Some read it this way: We write no other things than what ye read and acknowledge, which it is quite evident is extremely lifeless, if not senseless. For as to Ambrose’s qualifying the statement in this way: You not only read, but also acknowledge, there is no one who does not perceive that it is quite foreign to the meaning of the words. The meaning I have stated is plain and fits together naturally. Up to this point, nothing would prevent readers from understanding it, if they had not been misled by the different meanings of the word, which has effectively closed their eyes to it. The sum is this: Paul declares that he brings forward no other things than what were known and perceived by the Corinthians—indeed, things to which they would testify on his behalf. The first term employed is recognoscere, (to recognize), which is applicable when persons are convinced from experience that things are so. The second is agnoscere, (to acknowledge), meaning that they consent to the truth.

And, I hope, will acknowledge even to the end. As the Corinthians had not yet perfectly recovered their good sense, so as to be prepared to evaluate his faithfulness fairly and impartially, but at the same time had begun to lessen some of their stubborn and hostile judgment concerning him, he indicates that he hopes for better in the future. “You have already,” he says, “to some extent acknowledged me. I hope that you will acknowledge more and more what I have been among you, and in what manner I have conducted myself.” From this it appears more clearly what he meant by the word ἐπιγινώσκειν (acknowledge). Now this relates to a time of repentance, for they had at the beginning acknowledged him fully and thoroughly; afterwards their right judgment had been obscured by unfair statements, but they had eventually begun to partially recover their good sense.