Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 2

After giving a general reason for his delay in visiting the Corinthians, the Apostle now explains the specific cause of his delay and how he spared them. In this regard, he does two things: first, he mentions that one cause of his delay was so that he would not pain them by coming; second, he shows that another cause was so that the fruit he hoped for from others, which was beginning to ripen, might not be hindered (2 Corinthians 2:12).

Concerning the first point, he does two things: first, he shows that the cause of his delay in general was to avoid paining them; second, he speaks in particular about a certain person who had grieved him (2 Corinthians 2:5). Concerning this first sub-point, he does three things: first, he tells why he postponed his visit; second, he gives the reason for his statement (2 Corinthians 2:2); third, he explains what he said (2 Corinthians 2:4).

He says, therefore, that he did not come to them in order to avoid grieving them. He writes, I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you—that is, not to cause you pain. As it is written, Reason is the beginning of every work, and counsel precedes every undertaking . The reason he did not wish to grieve them is the same one by which the Lord did not wish His disciples to fast: namely, so that they would be drawn to Christ and joined to Him not by fear, but by love.

For the Lord wished to strengthen and nourish them in the faith with all gentleness and heartfelt desire. In this way, being established in love, they would not easily turn away from Him because of tribulations, for many waters cannot extinguish love (Song of Solomon 8:7). For this same reason, the Apostle does not want to cause them pain.

He gives the reason for his statement—that he does not want to pain them—when he says, for if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? (2 Corinthians 2:2). In this section, he first deals with the reason he did not wish to pain them, and second, he shows why he tells them this (2 Corinthians 2:3).

He says, therefore: The reason I did not wish you to fall into sadness was that your sadness pains me, and I rejoice in your comfort. You can only comfort me when I am with you. Hence, if I had come and pained you, I would have been sad because of your sadness. Then there would have been no one among you to make me glad, because you would have been sad on my account. For one who is sad does not easily comfort another person: A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother (Proverbs 10:1); He who loves wisdom makes his father glad (Proverbs 29:3).

Alternatively, there are two kinds of sadness. One is worldly sadness, and the other is godly sadness, which produces repentance leading to salvation. The Apostle is speaking not of the first kind, but of the second. He means: "I will be comforted if I cause you pain"—that is, if by scolding you I bring you to repentance. "But if I had come and seen you unrepentant of your sins, I would have had no comfort, because no one would be sad and repentant because of me"—that is, because of my correction and rebuke.

The reason I am writing this to you is so that you will correct yourselves. Then, when I come, I will not be sad at seeing you uncorrected, adding to the sadness I already experienced when I heard that you had sinned. Here he first gives his admonition, and second, he shows that he is confident it will be obeyed (2 Corinthians 2:3b).

The admonition is this: I wrote as I did—pained by the sin you committed, for he was vexed in his righteous soul day after day with their lawless deeds (2 Peter 2:8)—so that you might prepare and correct yourselves. In this way, when I came, I would not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice. That is, I ought to rejoice and be glad in your presence, for There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10).

His confidence that they would follow his admonition is indicated when he says, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. It is as if he is saying: "I have this confidence in you, that you will be so disposed that when I come, all of you will give me reason for joy. And you should do this cheerfully, so that my joy would be the joy of you all." This means his joy would contribute to their joy, which they have from the recovery of grace, for we are told, Rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15).

Because someone might be in doubt about his statement, so that when I came I might not suffer pain, and ask what sort of pain he meant, he explains this by saying, for I wrote you out of much affliction and anguish of heart. In this regard, he first mentions the pain he has already suffered, and second, he answers a tacit question (2 Corinthians 2:4b).

First, therefore, he says: I would be pained if I found you uncorrected—a pain greater than what I had when you sinned and I was obliged to sadden you with a sharp rebuke. For he says, I wrote you in the first epistle out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears. He shed these tears for you when you were already dead in sin: O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears (Jeremiah 9:1); It is a disgrace to be the father of an undisciplined son ; The righteous man perishes and no one lays it to heart (Isaiah 57:1).

It should be noted that he mentions two things that amplify his pain—affliction and anguish—because one added to the other increases sadness. For sometimes a person is sad but without anguish; for example, when he is pricked by some adversity as though by a very sharp thorn, and yet various ways of escape seem open to him. But if no way is open, anguish is joined to affliction. He says, therefore, for I wrote you out of much affliction—with which he was pricked by your evil deeds—and anguish of heart, because he could not see where a remedy could easily be found: Trouble and anguish have come upon me (Psalms 119:143).

But because they could say, "O Apostle, you are writing these things just to pain us," he anticipates this objection. He explains that he did not write to cause them pain, but to let them know the abundant love he has for them. For there are two signs of love: to rejoice in the good of another and to be pained at another's evil. The Apostle has both of these for the Corinthians, for the love of Christ controls us (2 Corinthians 5:14). This love is more abundant than they think, or more abundant than his love for others.

After giving the reason for his delay—namely, to avoid causing them pain—and after telling them of his sadness, the Apostle here addresses the one who caused his sadness. In this regard, he does three things: first, he speaks more fully about the guilt of the one who caused this sadness; second, he discusses the punishment for the injury inflicted (verse 6); and third, he urges them to have mercy on this person (verse 7).

He says, therefore, that he wrote with many tears, which he shed because of the sadness he felt and the punishment to be inflicted on the sinner. If anyone has caused pain—namely, the heinous fornicator of whom he writes in 1 Corinthians 5:1, “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans”—that one, he says, has not caused sorrow to me alone, but in some measure to all of you. He says this “in some measure” so as not to put it too severely, that is, so that he might not lay this burden on all of them by speaking harshly.

It is as if to say: You are not all so good or so loving toward me that all of you would weep over my sadness and over a brother’s sin. Alternatively, “not to put it too severely” could mean not burdening everyone, including those who did not grieve over the sin.

A better interpretation, however, is this: it should be noted that a person can be either completely saddened or not. A person is completely saddened when they are engrossed by pain and grief. This is the sadness that brings about death, as he says later (2 Corinthians 7:10), but which, according to the Philosopher, does not happen to a wise person. A person is not completely sad when, although grieving some evil they are suffering or that seems to be coming, they nevertheless rejoice for other good reasons. This sadness is “according to God” and does happen to a wise person.

According to this view, the meaning is: The fornicator has pained me on account of his sin, but he has not pained me entirely. For although I grieved for him because of his sin, I still take joy in you for the many good things you do, and in him because of his repentance. I say, “in some measure, that I may not burden you all,” meaning, that I may not lay on you the burden of causing me to grieve.

But so that they would not wish to punish him more on account of the Apostle’s sadness, he shows them that the punishment was sufficient, saying that for such a one—that is, for the one who pained me so much by sinning—this punishment by the majority is enough. This refers to the harsh public correction where he was excommunicated from the Church and delivered to Satan (1 Corinthians 5:5). Therefore, this punishment is enough for the reasons mentioned. Alternatively, it can be called sufficient not in relation to God’s judgment, but in terms of what was expedient for the time and the person. For it is better to maintain a spirit of leniency in correction, so that the fruit of correction follows from repentance, than to correct so harshly that the sinner despairs and falls into worse sins. This is why it says in Sirach 21:4: “Terror and violence will lay waste riches.”

Therefore, because the punishment was sufficient and the man repented, he urges them to show mercy, saying, “so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him.” Here he does three things: first, he commands them to spare the sinner; second, he gives the reason (verse 7); and third, he urges them to follow this admonition (verse 8).

He says first, therefore: I say that the punishment is sufficient for him, so that you should rather turn to forgive him: “Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37); “Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). You should not only forgive but, what is more, you should comfort him. This can be done by recalling the examples of sinners who were restored to a state of grace—such as David, Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene—and through the Word of God: “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord GOD; so turn, and live” (Ezekiel 18:32); “Admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all” (1 Thessalonians 5:14).

He gives the reason for this admonition, saying, “lest he be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” For some are at times so steeped in sorrow over their sin and its punishment that they are overcome when they have no one to comfort them. This is bad because it does not lead to the hope for the fruit of repentance—namely, reformation—but instead, in despair, the person gives himself over to all kinds of sins. This is like Cain, who said, “My punishment is greater than I can bear” (Genesis 4:13); and as it is written, “Who, despairing, have given themselves up to licentiousness, greedy to practice every kind of uncleanness” (Ephesians 4:19). For this reason, despair is called a dangerous thing in 2 Samuel 2:26, which is why David said in Psalm 69:15: “Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.” Therefore, to prevent this, he says to comfort him so that he will cease sinning: “This will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin” (Isaiah 27:9).

Then the Apostle urges them to do this not only with reason but for other causes, when he says, “So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.” He urges them in three ways. First, by his appeal, saying, “So”—that is, so that the man is not overwhelmed—“I, who can command, beg you”: “Though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required, yet for love’s sake I prefer to appeal to you” (Philemon 1:8–9). Evil leaders do the opposite: “With force and harshness you have ruled them” (Ezekiel 34:4). To “reaffirm your love for him” happens when you show charity for him and do not hate or despise him for his sins. Instead, for his consolation, you help him to hate his sin and love justice: “Strengthen your brethren” (Luke 22:32).

Second, he urges them with a command, saying, “For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything.” He says “in everything,” meaning in matters that are both pleasing and displeasing to you. For he had first commanded them to excommunicate the man, and they obeyed. Now he commands them to be merciful; hence he says, “whether you are obedient in everything.”

Third, he urges them by reminding them of a gift, when he says, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.” It is as if to say: You should do this because I have also done it. For if you have forgiven someone and asked me to forgive, I have forgiven. This is what he means when he says, “Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.”

This is clear, for “what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the [person] of Christ.” In this, he touches on four things required for such a pardon or forgiveness.

1. First is discernment, so that a pardon is not granted indiscriminately and rashly. Hence he says, “if I have forgiven anything,” implying that it is done in the proper way: “Let your eyes look directly forward” (Proverbs 4:25).
2. Second is the purpose, because it should be done not out of love or hatred, but for some benefit to the Church or to others. Hence he says, “it has been for your sake.”
3. Third is authority, because it should not be done on one’s own authority, but on Christ’s. Christ forgives sin by His own authority, but others to whom this has been entrusted forgive as ministers and members of Christ. Hence he says, “in the [person] of Christ,” meaning, not by my own authority. Yet whatever is forgiven, Christ forgives: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven” (John 20:23).
4. Fourth is the need, which is why he says, “to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us.”

For the devil has deceived many: some by leading them to commit sins, and others by excessive rigor against sinners. Thus, if Satan cannot get them for having committed sin, he at least destroys those he already has through the severity of leaders who drive them to despair by not correcting them in a compassionate way. Hence, he destroys the latter, and the former he puts in the snare of the devil: “Be not righteous overmuch” (Ecclesiastes 7:16); “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

This will happen to us if we do not forgive sinners. Therefore, so that we might not be deceived by Satan—“to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us”—he says, “I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything.” For, as he says, “we are not ignorant of his designs”—that is, the designs of Satan.

This is true in general, but in particular, no one can know his thoughts except God alone: “Who can strip off his outer garment? Who can penetrate into the midst of his mouth?” (Job 41:13, Vulgate).

Having given the first reason for his delay—that he might avoid coming to them in sadness—the Apostle now gives the second reason: the fruit he was producing elsewhere. In this regard, he does two things: first, he mentions his travels; second, their result (2 Corinthians 2:14). Regarding his travels, he first mentions the obstacle he met at Troas, and second, his journey into Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:13b).

He says, therefore: When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, that is, to preach Christ (compare to John 15:16: “But I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit”), a door was opened for me. This means people’s minds were prepared and disposed to receive the words of preaching and Christ, as in 1 Corinthians 16:9, “for a wide door for effective work has opened to me,” and Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock.”

This opening was not in just anyone, but in the Lord, because the preparation of the human mind is accomplished by God’s power. For although the ease with which minds are prepared is a cause of conversion, God is the cause of that ease and preparation: “Convert us to yourself, O Lord, that we may be converted” (Lamentations 5:21, Vulgate).

When this door was opened for me in the Lord, Paul says, my spirit could not rest. This means he was unable to do what his spirit prompted him to do. For the spirit is said to have rest when it achieves what it desires, just as the flesh is said to rest when it has what it wants: “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease” (Luke 12:19). The Apostle does not say he had no rest in his flesh or body, but in his spirit—that is, in his spiritual will, which is to establish Christ in human hearts. He was hindered because he saw hearts that were prepared and disposed, yet he was unable to preach to them.

He then explains why his spirit had no rest, adding, because I did not find my brother Titus there. The reason was Titus’s absence, and this for two reasons. First, although the Apostle knew all their languages, so that he could say, “I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all” (1 Corinthians 14:18), he was more skilled in Hebrew than in Greek, while Titus was more skilled in Greek. Therefore, Paul wanted him to be present to preach in Troas. Because Titus was absent—for the Corinthians had detained him—Paul says his spirit could not rest.

However, the second reason is better. Since God’s gifts are not incomplete, and the gift of tongues was given to the apostles specifically for preaching throughout the world (as in Psalm 19:4, “Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world”), there must be more to it. The better reason is that many tasks remained for the Apostle in Troas. On the one hand, he had to preach to those prepared to receive Christ by faith; on the other, he had to resist the adversaries who opposed him. Because he could not do these things alone, he was grieved by Titus’s absence. Titus could have focused on preaching and converting the receptive, while the Apostle withstood their opponents.

Paul takes pains to write this to the Corinthians to suggest that they were responsible for both reasons for his delay. Because of their hardness and quarreling, they had detained Titus for a long time. Hence he says, because I did not find my brother Titus there—his brother in Christ and his co-worker: “A brother helped is like a strong city” (Proverbs 18:19).

Because he did not find Titus in Troas, Paul did not stay there. He says, I took leave of them—that is, those who were converted and in whom a door had been opened—and I went on to Macedonia, where he expected to find him. The reason for going to Macedonia is also given in Acts 16:9, which says: “A man of Macedonia was standing beseeching him and saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’”

Then, with the words, But thanks be to God, Paul describes the progress of his journey. He does two things: first, he describes the nature of his progress; second, he contrasts the false apostles with that progress (2 Corinthians 2:16b). Regarding the first point, he first alludes to the progress he made and second, explains something he had said (2 Corinthians 2:15).

It should be noted that the Apostle did not attribute the progress and fruit he had produced to himself or his own power, but to God. (Compare 1 Corinthians 15:10: “On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me.”) This aligns with his own commands: “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), and “Always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father” (Ephesians 5:20).

Paul says it is God who in Christ always leads us in triumph, which means God makes them triumph in preaching Christ against their adversaries. Preachers of the truth must do two things: exhort in sound doctrine and refute those who contradict it. They do this by debating with heretics and by patiently enduring persecutors. The Apostle touches on these in order. He says God leads us in triumph, which relates to contradicting opponents (Romans 8:37: “We are more than conquerors”; 1 Maccabees 3:19: “It is not on the size of the army that victory in battle depends, but strength comes from Heaven”). He then says God spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere, which relates to exhorting in sound doctrine.

A gloss explains the fragrance of the knowledge of him as knowledge of his Son. However, it is better to understand this phrase as distinguishing the knowledge of God obtained by faith from that obtained through other sciences. The knowledge of God from other sciences only enlightens the intellect, showing that God is the first cause, that He is one, wise, and so on. But the knowledge of God from faith both enlightens the intellect and stirs the affections. It reveals not only that God is the first cause, but that He is our Savior and Redeemer, that He loves us, and that He became incarnate for us—all of which inflame the heart. Therefore, the phrase the fragrance of the knowledge of him should be understood as the knowledge of His sweetness, which He spreads everywhere to those who believe, for that fragrance is spread far and wide: “Like a vine I cause loveliness to bud” ; “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed” (Genesis 27:27).

Some might ask, “How can this be the fragrance of God in every place? For there are many places where our preaching is not accepted.” The Apostle essentially answers that whether people accept the preaching or not, the knowledge of God is made manifest everywhere through the apostles. This is because we are the aroma of Christ to God—that is, to the honor of God. He says this using an analogy from the Law, where a sacrifice is described as the sweetest fragrance to God. It is as if Paul is saying: “We are a burnt offering presented to God, a fragrance of sweetness both among those who are being saved (a gift which is from God, so that they might not perish) and among those who are perishing (a state which comes from themselves).” As it is written: “Destruction is your own, O Israel, your help is only in me” (Hosea 13:9, Vulgate).

But does this fragrance affect the good and the wicked in the same way? No. To the one, it is a fragrance from death to death. This refers to the envy and malice of those who resent the Apostle’s good reputation and fight against the preaching of Christ and the conversion of the faithful. This envy becomes the occasion for their eternal death, as in Luke 2:34: “This child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.” To the other, it is a fragrance from life to life. This refers to the love and good opinion of those who rejoice and are converted by the Apostle’s preaching, which leads them to eternal life. As Paul also wrote, “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Thus, from the Apostle’s fragrance, the good live and the wicked die, just as it is said that serpents die from the smell of flourishing vines.

When Paul asks, Who is sufficient for these things? he excludes the false apostles from this ministry. He is asking, “Which of those false apostles is sufficient for these things that we true apostles accomplish?” The implied answer is: “None.” (Compare Psalm 139:17, Vulgate: “But to me your friends, O God, are exceedingly honorable.”) On the other hand, Proverbs 27:2 says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”

Gregory, in his commentary on Ezekiel, resolves this by explaining that the saints praise themselves for two reasons, neither of which is for their own glory or out of vanity. The first reason is to avoid despairing in tribulations. For example, when Job’s friends tried to make him despair, he recalled the good things he had done to comfort himself. Hence, he said, “I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin?” (Job 31:1). We read of a holy father who, when tempted to despair, would recall his good deeds to find comfort; when tempted to pride, he would recall his sins to be humbled.

The second reason is for the benefit of others, so that the speaker might gain a greater reputation and his teaching be more readily believed. This is why the Apostle praises himself here. The Corinthians had preferred the false apostles to him and looked down on him, and as a result, they were not ready to obey him. Therefore, to ensure that they would obey him rather than disdain him, he presents himself as superior to them and praises himself, asking, Who is sufficient for these things? The answer is that the true apostles are, but not the false apostles, because they adulterate God’s word, which the true apostles do not.

Hence, Paul says, for we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word. The “so many” refers to the false apostles, who mix in contrary doctrines, just as heretics do who confess Christ but do not admit that He is true God. This is what the false apostles were doing when they said that the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament must be kept along with the Gospel. Paul calls them peddlers, or adulterers, of God’s word because they preach for personal gain or praise.

The analogy is this: women are called adulteresses when they receive seed from another man to conceive children. In preaching, the “seed” is your ultimate goal or intention. Therefore, if your goal is personal gain or your own glory, you adulterate God’s word. This is what the false apostles were doing. In contrast, Paul says, “We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:2). The true apostles preached neither for monetary gain nor for their own glory, but for the praise of God and the salvation of their neighbor. Thus, Paul adds, but as men of sincerity, meaning with a sincere intention—not for gain and without corrupting mixtures, as he says elsewhere: “We have behaved in the world, and still more toward you, with holiness and godly sincerity” (2 Corinthians 1:12).

The author points out three aspects of this sincerity. First, it relates to the dignity of the One who sent them. A messenger of the truth is expected to speak the truth, so Paul says they speak as commissioned by God—that is, with the sincerity that befits a messenger of God. (Compare 1 Peter 4:11: “Whoever speaks as one who utters oracles of God.”) Second, it relates to the authority of the One who presides, before whom they stand. Thus, they speak in the sight of God, in whose presence one must speak with sincerity, as Elijah did: “As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1). Third, it relates to the dignity of the subject matter. The apostles’ preaching is about Christ, so it must be sincere, just as Christ and God are sincere. Hence, Paul says, we speak in Christ alone, not mixing in the ceremonies of the Law as the false apostles do: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).