Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: 2 CORINTHIANS #2 - 1:15-2:17)
D. 1:15-2:17 FAITHFULNESS TO THE WORD: PAUL'S EXAMPLE
1. 1:15-22 GOD MAKES PAUL'S 'YES', AND 'AMEN'
a. 1:15-16 PAUL'S IMMEDIATE PLAN
Kai TAUte tepe-poiTHEsei [4006]e-bouLOmen [1014]PROte-ron pros huMAS elTHEIN,
And in this :confidence I intended to come first unto you,
HIna deuTEran CHAran SCHEte; kai di' huMON di-elTHEIN eis Ma-ke-doNIan,
that you might have a second joy; 16and by you to pass into Macedonia,
kai PAlin aPO Ma-ke-doNIas elTHEIN pros huMAS,
and again from Macedonia to come unto you,
kai huph' huMON pro-pemphTHEnai [4311]eis ten IouDAIan.
and of you to be set forward unto :Judaea.
b. 1:17 PAUL QUESTIONS HIS OWN INTEGRITY
TOUto oun bouLOme-nos, MEti Ara tee-laphRIa [1644]ech-reSAmen [5530]?
When I therefore intended thus, did I show :fickleness?
eha bouLEUo-mai, kaTA SARka [4561]bouLEUo-mai,
or the thingsI purpose, doI purpose according to theflesh,
HIna epar' eMOI to Nai nai kai to Ou ou?
that with me the yea should be yea and the nay nay?
c. 1:18 But :God is faithful that our :word :unto you is not yea and nay.
piSTOS de ho TheOS HOti ho LOgos heMON ho pros huMAS ouk EStin Nai kai Ou.
d. 1:19 CHRIST: THE BASIS OF PAUL'S INTEGRITY
ho tou TheOU gar huiOS, ChrisTOS IeSOUS, ho en huMIN di' heMON ke-ruchTHEIS [2784],
For the Son of :God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you through us,
di eMOU kai Si-lou-aNOU kai Ti-moTHEou, ouk eGEne-to Nai kai Ou, alLA Nai en auTO GEgo-nen.
through me and Silvanus and Timothy, was not yea and nay, but in him is yea.
e. 1:20 CHRIST SUPERCEDES ALL OTHER OF GOD'S PROMISES
HOsai gar e-pag-geLIai [1860] TheOU,
For however many the promises of God,
en auTO to Nai: di' ho kai di' auTOU to A-MEN, to TheO pros DOxon di' heMON.
in him is the yea: wherefore also through him is the Amen, unto glory to :God through us.
f. 1:21-22 GOD: ESTABLISHES AND SEALS THE APOSTLES
ho de be-baiON [950] heMAS sun huMIN eis ChrisTON, kai CHRIsas [5548] heMAS, TheOS;
Now who stablishes us with you unto Christ, and anointed us, is God;
ho kai sphra-giSAme-nos [4972]heMAS,
22who also sealed us,
kai dous ton ar-raBOna [728] tou PNEUma-tos en tais karDIais heMON.
and gave the earnest of the Spirit in our :hearts.
2. 1:23-2:4 PAUL'S DESIRE: TO COME IN JOY, NOT IN GRIEF
a. 1:23 REASON FOR PAUL'S DELAY
E-GOde MARtu-ra [3144]ton TheON e-pi-kaLOUmai ePI ten eMEN psuCHEN [5590],
But I call God for a witness upon my :soul,
HOti pheiDOme-nos [5339] huMON ouKEti ELthon eis KOrin-thon.
that to spare you I came not yet unto Corinth.
b. 1:24 PAUL: FELLOW-LABORER IN FAITH
ouch HOti ku-riEUo-men [2961] huMON tes PISte-os,
Not that we lord it over your :faith,
alLA su-nerGOI [4904] es-men tes chaRAS huMON: te gar PIStei hesTEka-te [2476].
but are fellow-laborers of your :joy: for by :faith you stand fast.
c. 2:1 For I determined this for myself: not to come again to you with sorrow.
Ekri-na [2919] gar e-mauTO TOUto: to me PAlin en LUpe [3077] pros huMAS elTHEIN.
d. 2:2 For if I make you sorry, who then is he that makes me glad but he that is made sorry by me?
ei gar eGO luPO huMAS, kai tis ho euPHRAInon [2165] me ei me ho luPOUme-nos [3076] ex eMOU?
e. 2:3 PAUL'S CONVERTS: HIS SOURCE OF JOY
kai Egra-psa TOUto auTO, HIna me, elTHON, LUpen scho aph' hon Edei me CHAIrein;
And I wrote this very thing, lest, when I came,I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice;
pe-poiTHOS [3982] ePI PANtas huMAS, HOti he eME chaRA PANton huMON es-tin.
trusting you all, that my :joy is that of you all.
f. 2:4 SORROW: BASIS OF FORMER LETTER
ek gar polLES THLIpse-os [2347] kai su-noCHES [4928] karDIas
For out of much tribulation and anguish of heart
Egra-psa huMIN diA polLON daKRUon [1144]; ouch HIna lu-peTHEte,
I wrote you with many tears; not that you be made sorry,
alLA ten aGApen HIna GNOte hen Echo pe-ris-soTEros eis huMAS.
but that you might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
3. 2:5-11 FORGIVENESS: THE TEST OF OBEDIENCE AND LOVE
a. 2:5 THE DIRECTION OF SORROW
Ei DE tis leLUpe-ken, ouk eME leLUpeken,
But if any has caused sorrow, he has caused sorow, not to me,
alLA aPO MErous (HIna mee-pi-baRO) PANtas huMAS.
but in part (that I press not too heavily) to you all.
b. 2:6-7 THE NECESSITY OF COMFORT
hi-kaNON to toiOUtohe e-pi-tiMIa [2009]HAUte hehuPO ton pleiOnon;
Sufficient to the such is the punishment which was by the many;
tou'nanTIon MALlon huMAS chaRIsas-thai [5483] kai pa-ra-kaLEsai [3870],
7so that contrariwise you should rather forgive and comfort,
mepos tepe-ris-soTEra LUpeka-ta-poTHE[2666]ho toiOUtos.
lest the such be swallowed up with overmuch :sorrow.
c. 2:8 Wherefore I beseech you to confirm love toward him.
di' HO pa-ra-kaLO[3870]huMAS kuROsai [2964]eis auTON aGApen.
d. 2:9 PROOF OF OBEDIENCE: BASED ON HIS FIRST LETTER
eis TOUto gar kai Egra-psa, HIna gnoten do-kiMEN [1382]huMON,
For to this endalso did I write, that I might know the proof of you,
ei eis PANta huPEkoOI [5255]es-te.
whether you are obedienct in all things.
e. 2:10-11 SATAN AND FORGIVENESS
hoDE ti chaRIzes-the [5483], ka' 'GO: kai gar eGOho keCHAris-mai, EI ti keCHAris-mai,
But to whom you forgive anything, I also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything,
di' huMAS en proSOpo[4383]ChrisTOU; HIna meple-o-nek-teTHOmen [4122]huPO tou Sa-taNA:
it is for your sakes in Christ's person;11that no advantage be gained over us by :Satan:
ou gar auTOU ta voEma-ta [3540]ag-noOUmen [50].
for we are not ignorant of his :devices.
4. 2:12-17 LIFE OR DEATH: THE RESULT OF GOSPEL MINISTRY
a. 2:12-13 OPEN DOORS: REQUIRE BACKING OF FELLOW-WORKERS
ElTHON de eis ten TroAda eis to eu-agGEli-on [2098]tou ChrisTOU,
Now when I came to :Troas for the gospel of the Christ,
kai THUras [2374]moi a-ne-ogMEnes [455]en KuRIo,
and a door was opened to me in theLord,
ouk ESche-ka Ane-sin toPNEUmaTI mou tomeheuREIN me TIton ton a-delPHON mou:
13I had no relief for my :spirit in not finding Titus my :brother:
alLA a-po-taXAme-nos [657]auTOIS, eXELthon eis Ma-ke-doNIan.
but taking leave of them, I went forth into Macedonia.
b. 2:14 THE TRIUMPH OF CHRIST
Tode TheOCHAris, toPANto-te thri-amBEUon-ti [2358]heMAS en toChrisTO,
But thanks to :God, who always leads us in triumph in the Christ,
kai ten osMEN 3744]tes GNOse-os auTOU pha-neROUNti [5319]di' heMON en panTI TOpo.
and makes manifest through us the savor of his :knowledge in every place.
c. 2:15-16a APOSTLES: SAVOR OF EITHER LIFE OR DEATH
HOti ChrisTOU eu-oDIa esMEN toTheO, en tois so-zoMEnois [4982], kai en tois a-po-luMEnois [622];
For we are a sweet savor of Christ to God, in those being saved, and in those perishing;
hois men osMEek thaNAtou [2288]eis THAna-ton; hois de osMEek zo-ES [2222]eis zo-EN.
16a to the one a savor from death unto death;to the other a savor from life unto life.
d. 2:16b And who is sufficient for these? kai pros TAUta tis hi-kaNOS?
e. 2:17 PAUL'S DEFENCE OF SELF
ou GAR es-men hos hoi polLOI, ka-peLEUon-tes [2585]ton LOgon tou TheOU:
For we are not as the many, bartering the word of :God:
all' hos ex ei-li-kriNIas [1505], all' hos ek TheOU kaTEnan-ti TheOU en ChrisTOlaLOUmen.
but as of sincerity, but as of God in God's sight speak we in Christ.
NOTE: In this passage we see the faithfulnessof the apostle Paul to the Word of God! How different from the attitude of the world - and sadly - ofttimes to that of professing believers! This attitude is pre-eminent with Paul - for he sees Christ and His Word as being one! Therefore he is being faithful to Christwhen he is faithful to His Word. He sets this forth in 1:19.
Notice: Paul saw himself and all trueapostles as chosen, anointed, sealed and given the earnest(ar-raBOna) of the Spirit. This latter is as it were God's down-payment for His final purchased possession of us at the time of the resurrection of our bodies. Thisis what the indwelling Holy Spirit meant to Rees Howells. Thisis what He means to all those who walk submissively and joyfully in Him down here prior to our Graduation!
In 1:23-2:4 Paul reveals his heart when it was necessary to mete out discipline! It is like parents having to corporally discipline their children! Yet in true love God does that for us, and in true love parents realize that they mustdo this for their own. The world rejects this! Liberals reject it. But the mess the world is in today, especially our Western Culture, reveals the tragedy when God and His Bible are rejected! Again - if only intelligent people would look at the life-work of Ivan Panin in Bible Numerics, and understand that the Bible is notthe work of man, but the work of Godthroughman! This applies to every type of teaching in the bible, including abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, governmental socialism, etc., etc., etc.
See how deep was Paul's anguish when having to mete out discipline! But see here another aspect of discipline: Following the reception of discipline by the erring one, such must nowbe forgiven and received back, just likeparents do with their kids. Note also - where fellow believers in a church discipline and then forgive, so alsodoesthe apostle Paul! This is so important to see and understand. It is much like grandparents do for their grandchildren, when the parents have done right in this regard. But apostles and grandparents muststand by churches and parents during the time of this sequence. One father had to deal with his kids' grandfather on his wife's side. It was verypainful. But it worked out a relationship with all concerned that truly glorified God!
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 for me is the key to this passage. For ifthe above sequence is notfollowed through, then Satan has an advantage. See how Job hadto forgive his 3 friends afterthey repented! Job's restoration of double what he had lost, did not take place until hehad forgiven them! Pause and consider this truth.
And finally, in 2:14, we see the amazing positive outlook of the apostle Paul in this and all othertrials of faith! Through everytrial, God alwaysleads us triumphantly through them in Christ! - See how he did this for Joshua in the conquest and distribution of Canaan-land on behalf of Israel! And - in these victories - sometimes for blessing and sometimes for judgment - yet alwaysthere is an appropriate savor of death unto death, or life unto life!
Much in this passage merits time spent in meditationand a prayerful outpouring of thanksgiving to God. J.A.W.