ACC ~ 2 Corinthians 12 v11 - 13

OVERVIEW:

Paul has been forced to disclose the truth. He makes it clear that he is not putting his own merits on display voluntarily (AMBROSIASTER). He rightly puts patience before signs and wonders, because attitudes matter more than abilities (THEODORET OF CYR). To bear all things nobly is the sign of an apostle (CHRYSOSTOM).

12:11 | Not Inferior

FORCED TO SPEAK. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that he has been forced to disclose the truth of the matter. He is certainly not foolish, having spoken the truth about himself, but is abasing himself in this way in order to make it clear that he is not putting his own merits on display voluntarily. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

12:12 | Signs of a True Apostle

HIS PATIENCE. AMBROSIASTER: Paul humbles himself only to rise to his true height. He talks about his patience because for a long time he put up with them as if they were sick people. His intention was to cure them of their errors by using the medicine of signs and wonders. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

SIGNS OF AN APOSTLE. CHRYSOSTOM: Notice that Paul says that all these things were done in great patience, for to bear all things nobly is the sign of an apostle. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 27.1.

ATTITUDES MATTER MORE THAN ABILITIES. THEODORET OF CYR: Paul rightly puts patience before signs and wonders, because attitudes matter more than abilities. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 350.

12:13 | Not Less Favored

CORINTH NOT LESS FAVORED. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is telling the Corinthians that they were better off than other churches. Corinth was the only place where he preached the gospel without being paid for it. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

HIS IRONY. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul says that the Corinthians insult the apostles by regarding him as inferior to these false teachers. His irony merely makes his rebuke more severe. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 27.2.

PAUL’S IMPENDING ARRIVAL

OVERVIEW: Paul is prepared even to die for the salvation of the Corinthians’ souls (AMBROSIASTER). He did not say that he was afraid of finding them in sin but rather that they might not be all he would wish (CHRYSOSTOM). Paul makes explicit all the charges an opponent might make against him in order to clear himself on all counts. He wanted to make spiritual provision for them in the sight of God yet did not want their material wealth (AMBROSIASTER). If he had more to give them, he would be bound to do so, as a loving parent (PELAGIUS). Forgiveness is effective only among converted hearts (FULGENTIUS).

12:14 | Seeking Them, Not Their Goods

TO GAIN THEM. AMBROSIASTER: Paul’s desire was to gain the Corinthians themselves and not their money. Once they understood that, they would have more affection for him. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

AS A LOVING PARENT. PELAGIUS: Paul is telling the Corinthians that if he had more to give them, he would be bound to do so, as a loving parent. COMMENTARY ON THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS 12.

NOT A BURDEN. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul adds this in order to dispel any lingering suspicion about his motives and intentions. He will not be a burden to them when he comes. On the contrary, he will give them far more than he will take from them. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 27.2.

12:15 | Spending and Being Spent

SPENDING LAVISHLY. AMBROSIASTER: Now Paul is openly expressing the love and affection which he had for them, since he is prepared not only to spend lavishly on their behalf but even to die for the salvation of their souls. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

RECEIVING LOVE. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul had a right to receive, but he would not do so. We too should imitate his behavior! HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 27.2-3.

12:16 | Craft and Guile?

WAS PAUL CRAFTY? AMBROSIASTER: Paul makes explicit all the charges which an opponent might make against him in order to clear himself on all counts. For he did not deal deviously with the Corinthians but straightforwardly. On the one hand he wanted to make provision for them in the sight of God and on the other he did not want their wealth in this life. He might have been suspected of despising them because the sums which they offered him were too small, but this was not the case. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

12:17 | Taking Advantage?

HIS EMISSARIES. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that the people whom he sent to them did not suggest that if they wanted the apostle to be well-disposed toward them they should offer him more money. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

12:18 | Titus and the Brother

OF GOOD CHARACTER. AMBROSIASTER: It is obvious that since nothing like this was done by any of Paul’s colleagues, the unanimous verdict on him was that he was of good character, with no trace of avarice in him. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

12:19 | For Their Upbuilding

LOVE AND RESPECT. AMBROSIASTER: Paul wants the Corinthians to love and respect him, without becoming a burden on their finances. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

CAREFUL SPEECH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul is constantly afraid of giving the wrong impression, which is why he is always careful to talk like this. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 28.2.

12:20 | Fear of Discord

NOT WHAT I WISH. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul did not say that he was afraid of finding them in sin but rather that they might not be all he would wish. Furthermore, he balances this by saying that their expectations of him might be disappointed as well. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 28.2.

12:21 | Lack of Repentance?

THOSE WHO HAVE NOT REPENTED. AMBROSIASTER: Paul is saying that some have repented but others have not. This contradicts Novatian, who claims that fornicators cannot repent or be received back into communion. Paul is affirming that they have indeed repented, and because of this they have been received back into the peace of the church. COMMENTARY ON PAUL’S EPISTLES.

HUMBLING FROM GOD. CHRYSOSTOM: Paul would come as their accuser and judge, and yet he regards this as a humbling from God, not as a cause of exaltation. He had no desire to assume such an unpleasant role. HOMILIES ON THE EPISTLES OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS 28.2.

THE CALL TO CONVERSION. FULGENTIUS: Concerning those who though within the church persisted in their evil deeds, he spoke thus to the Corinthians with these words of comfort: “I fear that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, immorality and licentiousness they practiced.” The apostle would not be saddened or humiliated in mourning over them if he believed that the forgiveness of sins would be granted to sinners and the wicked who continue to exasperate the divine justice without conversion of heart. The forgiveness of sins has no effect except in the conversion of the heart. We refer to those who have been converted by divine aid through the exercise of their own freedom of choice and whose lives are genuinely changed for the better. These converts will still occasionally sin, either through ignorance or through the stubbornness of a will that is knowingly lured by evil. They do not, however, stop asking for the forgiveness of their sins. ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1.13.2.