ACC ~ 2 Corinthians 1 v1 - 11

1:1a | An Apostle of Christ Jesus

BY THE WILL OF GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Freed from all anxiety about the Corinthians, Paul confidently declares that he is an apostle of the Lord. In the first letter he said that he was “called an apostle,” though he was not approved of by those who had been lured away from his teaching. In order to affirm that his apostleship has been ratified, he adds that he has been made an apostle by the will of God. He writes in association with Timothy, from whom he has heard the good news of the changes which have taken place at Corinth, and he associates the people there with believers in other churches, in order to confirm to them that they have made progress. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

PAUL, AN APOSTLE. PELAGIUS: People ask why it is that Paul puts his own name first, when the normal custom in letters is to put the name of the addressee at the beginning. The reason for this is that he is an apostle who is writing to those who are accountable to him. This is why he adopts the custom of secular judges, who do the same thing when they write to those over whom they exercise authority. Note too that he did not say “Paul and Timothy,” because they were not both apostles. But in writing to the Philippians Paul did say that, because it was not so necessary for him to stress his authority in that case. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.

TIMOTHY. CHRYSOSTOM: In his first epistle, Paul said that he would send Timothy with the letter, but now he associates Timothy with him. Why is this? Evidently Timothy had already accomplished his mission and returned to be with Paul. Having been for some time in Asia, they had crossed into Macedonia, from which he wrote this letter. By associating Timothy with himself, Paul increased respect for him and displayed his own great humility, since Timothy was far less well known than Paul. But love brings all things together. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.2.

TIMOTHY AND TITUS. THEODORET OF CYR: Timothy and Titus were both sent to Corinth, but Paul did not mention Titus in the letter because he was the one who actually carried it there. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 289.

1:1b | With All the Saints

THE CHURCH AT CORINTH. CHRYSOSTOM: Once more, Paul calls the Corinthians a church, in order to bind them together, and “saints,” implying that if anyone is impure he is not included in this greeting. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.2.

ALL THE SAINTS. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Paul does not always mention other people besides himself in his salutations. I think that he does this when one of his associates is well-known to the intended recipients. “With all the saints” is ambiguous. Either it means all the saints who were with Paul, or else it means all the saints who were at Corinth. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

1:1c | The Whole of Achaia

NEEDING THE SAME REMEDY. CHRYSOSTOM: Why does Paul address the Christians of the entire province, and not merely those of the city? The reason, I think, is that they were all involved in a single, common problem and were therefore all in need of the same remedy. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.2.

1:2 | Grace to You and Peace

THE GRACE OF GOD. AMBROSIASTER: Since the gift of God and of Christ is one and the same, Paul wants them to be partakers in the grace of God, that is, in the grace of Jesus Christ. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: The works that the Father does the Son also does, and the gifts that the Father gives, the Son also gives. It is to be understood from this that although we know God as Father, we are still servants of Jesus Christ. We do not call him “brother” but Lord. For he is the only begotten Son by nature, not by adoption, and is Lord of all those who have been made children of God. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

1:3 | The God of All Comfort

THE FATHER OF MERCIES. AMBROSIASTER: Paul always speaks in this way, indicating the personhood of the Father and the Son, even though they are of one substance. Now he is giving much relief to people who had been grieved by his rebuke, for when they hear that God is not just the Father of creation but the Father of mercies as well, they will have hope and be assured that they have been rebuked so that they may find the mercy of God, once they have mended their ways. Through repentance they were being born again and made anew, which was not just a pardon but a restoration of their previous state of existence. He puts “mercies” in the plural because of their many sins, his aim being to console those who have been grieved on account of their faults. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE SOURCE OF MERCY. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: God alone is holy and good, sanctifying others and making them good. He alone is blessed, because he gives blessing and does not receive it from someone else. Likewise, he is the Father of mercies by nature, because he is the source of all mercy and not because he has acquired this from anyone else. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

COMFORT IN SUFFERING. THEODORE OF MOPSUESTIA: Paul does not begin with suffering but with comfort, giving thanks for that before going on to explain that it came about through suffering. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

THE FATHER OF OUR LORD. THEODORET OF CYR: Christ himself teaches us that God is his Father. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 289.

SHARED GLORY AND HONOR. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” For in the thought of God, let the thought of Father be included, so that the glory which we ascribe to the Father and the Son with the Holy Spirit may be perfectly free from difference. For the Father has not one glory and the Son another, but their glory is one and the same, since the Son is the Father’s sole-begotten. When the Father is glorified, the Son shares in enjoyment of his glory, because the Son draws his glory from the honoring of the Father. Again, whenever the Son is glorified, the Father of so excellent a Son is greatly honored. THE CATECHETICAL LECTURES 6.1.

1:4 | Comfort in All Our Affliction

TWO KINDS OF CONSOLATION. AMBROSIASTER: Paul mentions two kinds of consolation. One is the sort by which people who are suffering distress unjustly on account of the name of Christ find consolation in being set free. The other is the consolation of those who, when they are grieved because of sins, receive consolation from the fact that hope of forgiveness is promised to them when they mend their ways. This happens amid a community of those who have received consolation from God and been rescued from distress. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE CAUSE OF HIS ABSENCE. CHRYSOSTOM: The Corinthians were very upset that the apostle had not come to them, in spite of his promise, and that he had spent all his time in Macedonia, apparently preferring them to the Corinthians. Paul therefore prepares to meet this feeling against him by declaring the cause of his absence, though without stating it directly. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.3.

PENITENTS RECONCILED. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: Paul sets this down beforehand because he is about to say that the man who had been condemned because of his sin should be reconciled by God’s comforting power. PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

COMFORT FROM THE SPIRIT. GREGORY OF NYSSA: But what does it mean to say that the kingdom of God is within us? What else than the gladness which comes from on high to souls through the Spirit? For this is like an image and a deposit and a pattern of everlasting grace which the souls of the saints enjoy in the time which is to come. So the Lord summons us through the activity of the Spirit to salvation through our afflictions and to a sharing in the goods of the Spirit and his own graces. For he says: “Who comforts us in our afflictions, that we also may be able to comfort those who are in any distress.” ON THE CHRISTIAN MODE OF LIFE.

SUFFERING AND COMFORT. ORIGEN: If as the sufferings of Christ abound so also comfort abounds through Christ, let us welcome the great encouragement of Christ’s sufferings and let them abound in us, if we indeed yearn for the abundant comfort with which all who mourn will be comforted, though perhaps it will not be alike for everyone. For if the comfort were alike for everyone, it would not be written, “As the sufferings of Christ abound for us, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” Those who share in sufferings will share also in the comfort in proportion to the suffering they share with Christ. And we learn this from the one who made such statements with unshaken conviction, for “we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.” EXHORTATION TO MARTYRDOM 42.

SHARING IN CHRIST’S COMFORT. AMBROSIASTER: It is clear that Christ himself, for whose sake we are suffering, is present with us, consoling us and rescuing us from trouble by his divine intervention. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

ABUNDANT CONSOLATION. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul did not want to depress the disciples with an exaggerated account of his sufferings, so instead of that he declares how great the consolation was that he received, reminding them of Christ. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.4.

VISION OF SOUL. ISAAC OF NINEVEH: Now by consolation he means theoria, which, being interpreted, is vision of soul. Vision gives birth to consolation. ASCETICAL HOMILIES 74.

1:6 | Afflicted for Their Comfort

A CONSOLATION TO BELIEVERS. AMBROSIASTER: Because they were suffering persecutions from unbelievers for the sake of believers, they would be set free by God’s help. This was viewed as a consolation to believers, so that they would not desert their faith because of such a stumbling block. The injuries suffered by the apostles were a temptation to believers to abandon their faith. When they saw the preachers overcome by force, they were inclined to wonder whether the promise of Christ might be an empty one. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

BEARING ALL THINGS NOBLY. CHRYSOSTOM: What humility can compare with this, in that Paul raises to a level of equality with himself those who so obviously fell far short of him. Our salvation is demonstrated more clearly when we bear all things nobly. The work of salvation does not consist only of believing but of enduring evil when it is done to us. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.1.

THE SAME SUFFERINGS. SEVERIAN OF GABALA: If the apostles suffered, how much more are the others likely to suffer! PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH.

1:7 | Hope Unshaken

PAUL’S COMFORT ALSO THEIRS. CHRYSOSTOM: See how far they had advanced since Paul wrote his first epistle. Now his hope for them was unshaken by their behavior. Paul also tells them that if he has been comforted, they will be comforted as well. If the Corinthians regarded Paul’s sufferings as their own, then his comfort would also be theirs. By saying this, Paul hoped that he would be able to encourage them and get them to accept his absence from them more easily. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.2.

1:8a | The Affliction Experienced

AFFLICTION IN ASIA. THEODORET OF CYR: I think that Paul is referring here to the riot at Ephesus which was provoked by Demetrius the silversmith. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 291.

FOR THEIR SAKE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul wanted the Corinthians to know what evils he was enduring for the sake of their salvation. That way, they would not take it too badly if their own errors were admonished by people who were enduring such harsh treatment for their sake. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

1:8b | Despairing of Life

UNBEARABLY CRUSHED. PELAGIUS: Paul recounts his own sufferings so that the Corinthians will realize that what they are going through is nothing by comparison. The disciple who grieves over his own hurt will be comforted when he sees that his master is suffering far more. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.

COUNTERING DESPAIR. CHRYSOSTOM: It was very comforting to know what others were doing and what was happening to them. If the news was bad, people would be encouraged to be energetic and thus would be less likely to fall. If the news was good, they could all rejoice together. Here, as we can see, things had been very bad indeed. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.3.

1:9 | Relying on God

DEATH STARING AT THEM. AMBROSIASTER: Paul means that there was such a violent upsurge of evil against preachers of the faith that death was staring them in the face. But God does not refuse his protection to people in extreme danger, especially when they belong to him. He rescued them when they were in deep despair. Their affliction was so great that they would not have withstood it if God had not been with them. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

THE SENTENCE OF DEATH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul was expecting death, but things had not come to that point. In the natural course of events, he should have died, but God did not allow that to happen in order that Paul would learn not to trust in himself but in God. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.3.

TO RELY NOT ON OURSELVES. PELAGIUS: Death itself teaches us that all human help is inadequate and that our only hope is to rely on him who can raise us from the dead. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 1.

A CALL TO LEAVE THE PAST BEHIND. BASIL: Perfect renunciation, therefore, consists in not having an affection for this life and keeping before our minds the “answer of death, that we should not trust in ourselves.” But a beginning is made by detaching oneself from all external goods: property, vainglory, life in society, useless desires, after the example of the Lord’s holy disciples. James and John left their father Zebedee and the very boat upon which their whole livelihood depended. Matthew left his counting house and followed the Lord, not merely leaving behind the profits of his occupation but also paying no attention to the dangers which were sure to befall both himself and his family at the hands of the magistrates because he had left the tax accounts unfinished. To Paul, finally, the whole world was crucified, and he to the world. THE LONG RULES 8.

1:10 | Delivered from Peril

DELIVERED FROM DEATH. CHRYSOSTOM: Although the resurrection is a thing of the future, Paul shows that it happens every day. When a person is delivered from the gates of death, it is really a kind of resurrection. The same thing can be said of those who have been delivered out of serious illness or unbearable trials. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.4.

1:11 | Answer to Many Prayers

HELP US BY PRAYER. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul said this both to stir them up to pray for others and to accustom them to give thanks to God for whatever happened to others. People who do this for others will be much more likely to do it for themselves as well. Paul also teaches them humility and deep, fervent love. For if he, who was so high above them, admitted that he was saved by their prayers, think how modest and humble they should have been as a result. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 2.5.