Thomas Aquinas Commentary 2 Corinthians 2:1-4

"But I determined this for myself, that I would not come again to you with sorrow. For if I make you sorry, who then is he that maketh me glad but he that is made sorry by me? And I wrote this very thing, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is [the joy] of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love that I have more abundantly unto you." — 2 Corinthians 2:1-4 (ASV)

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.