King James Version
2 Corinthians 1
24 verses with commentary
Greeting
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:
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<strong>Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God</strong> (ἀπόστολος διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ)—Paul anchors his authority in divine calling, not human appointment. <em>Thelēmatos</em> (θελήματος, "will") emphasizes God's sovereign purpose in Paul's apostleship, defending against opponents questioning his credibility.<br><br><strong>Timothy our brother</strong> shows collegial ministry—fratern...
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**I.**
(1) **Timothy our brother.**—Literally, *Timothy the brother.* The word is used obviously in its wider sense as meaning a fellow-Christian. The opening words of the Epistle are nearly identical with those of 1Corinthians 1:1. Timotheus, however, takes the place of Sosthenes, having apparently left Corinth before the arrival of the First Epistle, or, possibly, not having reached it. (See *In...
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12-13. Unity, not unvarying uniformity, is the law of God in the world of grace, as in that of nature. As the many members of the body compose an organic whole and none can be dispensed with as needless, so those variously gifted by the Spirit, compose a spiritual organic whole, the body of Christ, into which all are baptized by the one Spirit.
**of that one body--**Most of the oldest manuscript...
Read full commentary →Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
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<strong>Grace be to you and peace</strong> (χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη)—Paul's greeting merges Greek <em>charis</em> ("grace," unmerited favor) with Hebrew <em>shalom</em> ("peace," wholeness). In a letter addressing deep wounds, he invokes God's enabling power and reconciliation.<br><br><strong>From God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ</strong>—the dual <em>apo</em> (ἀπό, "from") places Fath...
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(2) **Grace be to you.**—See Romans 1:7; 1Corinthians 1:3.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
14. Translate, "For the body also." The analogy of the body, not consisting exclusively of one, but of many members, illustrates the mutual dependence of the various members in the one body, the Church. The well-known fable of the belly and the other members, spoken by Menenius Agrippa, to the seceding commons [Livy, 2.32], was probably before Paul's mind, stored as it was with classical literatur...
Read full commentary →God of All Comfort
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
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<strong>Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ</strong> (εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεός)—This <em>berakah</em> echoes Jewish liturgy (Ps 68:19, Eph 1:3), centering on the Father's relationship to Jesus. Paul erupts in doxology before finishing his greeting.<br><br><strong>The Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort</strong>—<em>oiktirmōn</em> (οἰκτιρμῶν, "compassions") is visceral (from ...
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(3) **Blessed be God . . . the Father of mercies.**—The opening words are spoken out of the fulness of the Apostle’s heart. He has had a comfort which he recognises as having come from God. The nature of that comfort, as of the previous sorrow, is hardly stated definitely till we come to 2Corinthians 2:13; 2Corinthians 7:6-7. At present the memory of it leads him to something like a doxology, as b...
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15. The humbler members ought not to disparage themselves, or to be disparaged by others more noble (1Co 12:21, 22).
**foot ... hand--**The humble speaks of the more honorable member which most nearly resembles itself: so the "ear" of the "eye" (the nobler and more commanding member, Nu 10:31), (1Co 12:16). As in life each compares himself with those whom he approaches nearest in gifts, not thos...
Read full commentary →Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
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<strong>Who comforteth us in all our tribulation</strong> (ὁ παρακαλῶν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ πάσῃ τῇ θλίψει)—Present participle <em>parakalōn</em> shows continuous action: God is always-comforting. <em>Thlipsis</em> (θλίψις, "pressure/crushing") evokes grapes in a winepress—intense suffering, not mere discomfort.<br><br><strong>That we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble</strong>—the teleology...
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(4) **Who comforteth us.**—For the writer, the name “God of all comfort” was the outcome of a living personal experience. He had felt that ever-continuing comfort flowing into his soul, and he knew that it had not been given to him for his own profit only, but that it might flow forth to others. Heathen poets had asserted one side of the truth. Sophocles had said—
“They comfort others who themselv...
Read full commentary →For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
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<strong>For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us</strong> (καθὼς περισσεύει τὰ παθήματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ)—<em>Perisseuei</em> (περισσεύει, "overflow/abound") suggests suffering beyond normal capacity. <em>Ta pathēmata tou Christou</em> means sufferings Christ endured AND sufferings for Christ's sake—Paul participates in Christ's ongoing afflictions.<br><br><strong>So our consolation also aboundeth ...
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(5) **Abound in us.**—Better, *overflow to us.* The sufferings of Christ, as in 1Peter 4:13; 1Peter 5:1 (the Greek in 1Peter 1:11 expresses a different thought), are those which He endured on earth; those which, in His mysterious union with His Church, are thought as passing from Him to every member of His body, that they too may drink of the cup that He drank of. For the thought that in our suffe...
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17. Superior as the eye is, it would not do if it were the sole member to the exclusion of the rest.
And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. is effectual: or, is wrought
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<strong>And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation</strong> (εἴτε θλιβόμεθα, ὑπὲρ τῆς ὑμῶν παρακλήσεως)—<em>Hyper</em> (ὑπὲρ, "for/on behalf of") shows substitutionary purpose. Paul's afflictions aren't random but redemptive, producing the Corinthians' comfort and <em>sōtēria</em> (salvation/sanctification).<br><br><strong>Which is effectual in the enduring of the same s...
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(6) **And whether we be afflicted . . .**—The better MSS. present some variations in the order of the clauses, some of them giving the words “and our hope of you is steadfast” after “which we also suffer” in this verse. The variation hardly affects the sense in any appreciable degree. That sense is that each stage of the Apostle’s experience, that of affliction no less than that of consolation, te...
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**18. now--**as the case really is.
**every one--**each severally.
And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation.
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<strong>And our hope of you is stedfast</strong> (ἡ ἐλπὶς ἡμῶν βεβαία)—<em>Bebaia</em> (βεβαία, "firm/secure") is legal terminology for binding contracts. Paul's hope isn't wishful but confident expectation grounded in divine faithfulness.<br><br><strong>Knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation</strong>—<em>koinōnoi</em> (κοινωνοί, "partners/share...
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(7) **And our hope of you is stedfast.**—Better, *our hope on behalf of you.* The sentence is brought in as a kind of parenthesis connected with the word “enduring.” He had not used that word lightly, still less as a tacit reproach, as though they were wanting in endurance. His hope for them, for their salvation in the fullest sense of the word, had never been stronger than it was at that moment.
...
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**19. where were the body--**which, by its very idea, "hath many members" (1Co 12:12, 14), [Alford].
For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:
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<strong>For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia</strong> (Οὐ θέλομεν ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν)—disclosure formula signals crucial information. <em>Thlipsis</em> (θλίψις) is same word from v. 4.<br><br><strong>That we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life</strong>—three intensifiers: <em>kath hyperbolēn</em> ("beyond m...
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(8) **We would not, brethren, have you ignorant.**—From the generalised language of the previous verses he passes to something more specific. The phrase by which he calls attention to the importance of what he is about to write is characteristic of the Epistles of this period (Romans 1:13; 1Corinthians 10:1; 1Corinthians 12:1; 1Thessalonians 4:13).
**Our trouble which came to us in Asia.**—The all...
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**20. now--**as the case really is: in contrast to the supposition (1Co 12:19; compare 1Co 12:18).
**many members--**mutually dependent.
But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves , but in God which raiseth the dead: sentence: or, answer
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<strong>But we had the sentence of death in ourselves</strong> (τὸ ἀπόκριμα τοῦ θανάτου)—<em>apokrima</em> (ἀπόκριμα) is judicial: "official verdict/sentence/decree." Perfect tense <em>eschēkamen</em> (ἐσχήκαμεν) suggests ongoing awareness: "we are dead men."<br><br><strong>That we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead</strong>—<em>hina</em> (ἵνα, "in order that") reveal...
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(9) **We had the sentence of death in ourselves.**—The word translated “sentence” (*apokrima*) does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, nor indeed in the LXX. Literally, it means *answer,* and was probably a half-technical term, used in medical practice, which St. Paul may have adopted from St. Luke, expressing the “opinion” which a physician formed on his diagnosis of a case submitted to hi...
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21. The higher cannot dispense with the lower members.
Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;
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<strong>Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us</strong>—three tenses: aorist <em>errysato</em> (ἐρρύσατο, past deliverance), present <em>ryetai</em> (ῥύεται, ongoing rescue), future <em>rysetai</em> (ῥύσεται, continued deliverance).<br><br>Past, present, future—three tenses of salvation echo Scripture (Eph 2:8 "saved"; Phil 2:12 "work...
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(10) **Who delivered us from so great a death.**—Death in itself seems hardly to admit of such a qualifying adjective, but the words appear to have been used to represent the incidents of the death which seemed so near, the bodily anguish, the sense of prostration, almost, one might venture to say, the very presence of the king of terrors. As the word translated “so great” is strictly speaking, us...
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**22. more feeble--**more susceptible of injury: for example, the brain, the belly, the eye. Their very feebleness, so far from doing away with the need for them, calls forth our greater care for their preservation, as being felt "necessary."
Ye also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.
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<strong>Ye also helping together by prayer for us</strong> (συνυπουργούντων ὑμῶν)—<em>synhypourgountōn</em> (συνυπουργούντων, "working together alongside") portrays prayer as collaborative labor, not passive. <em>Deēsis</em> (δεήσει, "petition/supplication") is specific request.<br><br><strong>That for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many</strong>—<em>...
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(11) **Ye also helping together by prayer . . .**—They too to whom he writes can help him as he helps them. Indirectly he asks their prayers for him, but he does so with a refined delicacy of feeling, by assuming that they are already praying, and that their prayers are helpful.
**That for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons.**—The Greek word for “person” (*prosôpon*) is elsewhe...
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**23. less honourable--**"We think" the feet and the belly "less honorable," though not really so in the nature of things.
**bestow ... honour--**putting shoes on (Margin) the feet, and clothes to cover the belly.
**uncomely parts--**the secret parts: the poorest, though unclad in the rest of the body, cover these.
Paul's Change of Plans
For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward.
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<strong>For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience</strong> (ἡ καύχησις ἡμῶν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως)—<em>kauchēsis</em> (καύχησις, "boasting") is Pauline terminology; <em>martyrion</em> (μαρτύριον, "testimony") and <em>syneidēseōs</em> (συνειδήσεως, "conscience") indicate inner conviction bearing witness. Paul's confidence rests on internal integrity, not external success.<b...
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(12) **For our rejoicing is this. . . .**—Better, *our boast,* as in Romans 3:17; Romans 15:17; 1Corinthians 15:31. With the feeling of jubilant thankfulness which has hitherto characterised his language there mingles another of a different character. It had, perhaps, been in the background of his thoughts all along. He had seemed, in 1Corinthians 4:21, to imply that he was coming to take strong m...
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**24. tempered ... together--**on the principle of mutual compensation.
**to that part which lacked--**to the deficient part [Alford], (1Co 12:23).
For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;
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<strong>For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge</strong> (οὐ γράφομεν ὑμῖν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἃ ἀναγινώσκετε)—Paul insists on transparency: what he writes matches what they read <em>anaginōskete</em> (ἀναγινώσκετε) and acknowledge <em>epiginōskete</em> (ἐπιγινώσκετε). No hidden meanings.<br><br><strong>And I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end</strong>—future <em>epign...
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(13) **For we write none other things . . .**—The Greek presents a play on the two words “read” (*ana-ginoskein*) and “acknowledge,” or “know fully” (*epiginoskein*)*,* which it is impossible to reproduce in English. It is as though he said: “I have no hidden meaning in what I write and you read. What you read you read aright in its plain and simple sense. I hope” (the very hope implies that it ha...
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**25. no schism--**(compare 1Co 12:21)--no disunion; referring to the "divisions" noticed (1Co 11:18).
**care one for another--**that is, in behalf of one another.
As also ye have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.
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<strong>As also ye have acknowledged us in part</strong> (ἐπέγνωτε ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ μέρους)—aorist recalls past understanding, qualified by <em>apo merous</em> (ἀπὸ μέρους, "in part/partially"). The Corinthians' recognition was incomplete.<br><br><strong>That we are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus</strong>—<em>kauchēma</em> (καύχημα, "boast") creates mutual glorying. ...
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(14) **As also ye have acknowledged.**—The parenthetical clause (better, *ye did acknowledge*) comes in to qualify the fear which had been partly veiled by the hope. They had done him some, though not adequate, justice. The phrase “in part” may be noted as specially characteristic of the Epistles of this period (Romans 11:25; Romans 15:15; Romans 15:24; 1Corinthians 11:18; 1Corinthians 12:27; 1Cor...
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**26. And--**Accordingly.
**all ... suffer with it--**"When a thorn enters the heel, the whole body feels it, and is concerned: the back bends, the belly and thighs contract themselves, the hands come forward and draw out the thorn, the head stoops, and the eyes regard the affected member with intense gaze" [Chrysostom].
**rejoice with it--**"When the head is crowned, the whole man feels honor...
Read full commentary →And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit; benefit: or, grace
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<strong>And in this confidence I was minded to come unto you before</strong> (ταύτῃ τῇ πεποιθήσει)—<em>pepoithēsei</em> (πεποιθήσει, "confidence/trust") connects to v. 14. Imperfect <em>eboulomēn</em> (ἐβουλόμην, "I was wanting") indicates past unfulfilled intention.<br><br><strong>That ye might have a second benefit</strong> (δευτέραν χάριν)—<em>deuteran charin</em> (δευτέραν χάριν, "second grace...
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(15) **And in this confidence.**—What has been said hitherto paves the way for the explanation of his apparent change of purpose which he is anxious to give, though he will not formally plead at the bar of the tribunal of those who accused or suspected him. It was because he trusted that they would judge him rightly that he had done that which had led some to judge him wrongly. His plan had been a...
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**27. members in particular--**that is, severally members of it. Each church is in miniature what the whole aggregate of churches is collectively, "the body of Christ" (compare 1Co 3:16): and its individual components are members, every one in his assigned place.
And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea.
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<strong>And to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto you</strong>—Paul details original itinerary: two visits to Corinth bracketing Macedonia. <em>Dielthein</em> (διελθεῖν, "to pass through") and <em>di' hymōn</em> (δι᾽ ὑμῶν, "through you") suggest Corinth as waypoint.<br><br><strong>And of you to be brought on my way toward Judaea</strong>—<em>propemphthēnai</em> (πρ...
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(16) **To be brought on my way.**—The change of word is significant. He did not intend merely to go from Corinth to Judaea. He expected the Corinthians to further his intentions, to help him on, to escort him solemnly to the ship in which he was to sail, perhaps to accompany him to Asia. (Comp. the use of the word in Acts 15:3; Acts 20:38, “accompanied”; 21:5; Romans 15:24; 1Corinthians 16:6-11.) ...
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**28. set ... in the church--**as He has "set the members ... in the body" (1Co 12:18).
**first apostles--**above even the prophets. Not merely the Twelve, but others are so called, for example, Barnabas, &c. (Ro 16:7).
**teachers--**who taught, for the most part, truths already revealed; whereas the prophets made new revelations and spoke all their prophesyings under the Spirit's influenc...
Read full commentary →When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?
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<strong>When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness?</strong> (μήτι τῇ ἐλαφρίᾳ ἐχρησάμην;)—<em>elaphria</em> (ἐλαφρίᾳ, "lightness/fickleness") connotes frivolous instability. Rhetorical question expects "No!"<br><br><strong>Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay?</strong>—<em>kata sarka</em> (κατὰ σάρκα, "accor...
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(17) **Did I use lightness?**—This, then, was the charge which he is anxious to refute. The question meets us, however, When had the Corinthians heard of the plan thus detailed? It had been already abandoned, as we have seen, before the first Epistle was despatched. Had it been communicated in a lost letter (see Note on 1Corinthians 5:9)? or was this what Timotheus, who started before the first le...
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**29. Are all?--**Surely not.
But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. word: or, preaching
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<strong>But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay</strong> (πιστὸς δὲ ὁ θεός)—<em>pistos ho theos</em> (πιστὸς ὁ θεός, "God is faithful/true") is oath formula invoking divine character as guarantee. Paul swears by God's reliability to certify his own.<br><br>Aorist <em>egeneto</em> (ἐγένετο, "became/was") shows Paul's message has never been contradictory yes-and-no. Logic: becaus...
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(18) **As God is true.**—Literally, *as God is faithful.* The words were one of St. Paul’s usual formulæ of assertion. (Comp. 1Corinthians 1:9; 1Corinthians 10:13; 2Thessalonians 3:3.) In other instances it is followed commonly by a statement as to some act or attribute of God. Here it is more of the nature of an oath: “As God is faithful in all His words, so my speech” (the vague term is used to ...
Read full commentary →For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea.
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<strong>For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us</strong>—Paul shifts from travel plans to gospel's core: Jesus Christ, <em>ho huios tou theou</em> (ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, "the Son of God"), proclaimed <em>kērychtheis</em> (κηρυχθείς, "heralded") by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy during the original mission (Acts 18).<br><br><strong>Was not yea and nay, but in him was yea</strong>...
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(19) **By me and Silvanus and Timotheus.**—We note an undesigned coincidence with Acts 18:5, where Silas (whose identity with Silvanus is thus proved) is related to have come with Timotheus to join St. Paul at Corinth. The three names are joined together in the same order in 1Thessalonians 1:1, and 2Thessalonians 1:1.
**Was not yea and nay, but in** **him was yea.**—From the forensic point of view...
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**31. covet earnestly--**Greek, "emulously desire." Not in the spirit of discontented "coveting." The Spirit "divides to every man severally as He will" (1Co 12:1); but this does not prevent men earnestly seeking, by prayer and watchfulness, and cultivation of their faculties, the greatest gifts. Beza explains, "Hold in the highest estimation"; which accords with the distinction in his view (1Co 1...
Read full commentary →For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
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<strong>For all the promises of God in him are yea</strong> (ὅσαι ἐπαγγελίαι θεοῦ, ἐν αὐτῷ τὸ Ναί)—<em>hosai</em> (ὅσαι, "as many as/all") totalizes: every single divine promise finds affirmation <em>en autō</em> (ἐν αὐτῷ, "in Him"). Christ is the hermeneutical key unlocking all Scripture (Luke 24:27, 44). OT promises—land, offspring, kingdom, new covenant, Spirit—all fulfilled in Jesus.<br><br><s...
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(20) **All the promises of God . . .**—Literally, *as* *many as are the promises of God.* Many of the better MSS. give a different reading: “In him is the Yea, wherefore also by him is the Amen to God for glory by our means.” The thought in either case is the same. The promises of God have been fulfilled and ratified in Christ. He was, as it were, a living incarnate “Amen” to those promises. Comp....
Read full commentary →Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
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<strong>Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ</strong> (ὁ βεβαιῶν ἡμᾶς σὺν ὑμῖν)—<em>bebaiōn</em> (βεβαιῶν, "confirming/establishing/making firm") is present participle: God continuously secures us. <em>Syn hymin</em> (σὺν ὑμῖν, "together with you") unites apostle and congregation—both depend on divine establishment <em>eis Christon</em> (εἰς Χριστόν, into Christ/union).<br><br><strong>An...
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(21) **He which stablisheth us with you . . .**—For a moment the thought of an *apology* for his own conduct is merged in the higher thought of the greatness of his mission. The word “stablisheth,” or “confirmed,” as in 1Corinthians 1:8, is connected with the previous “Amen” as the emphatic formula of ratification. In the insertion of “with you” we note St. Paul’s characteristic anxiety to avoid t...
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CHAPTER 13
1Co 13:1-13. Charity or Love Superior to All Gifts.
The New Testament psalm of love, as the forty-fifth Psalm (see Psa 45:1, title) and the Song of Solomon in the Old Testament.
**1. tongues--**from these he ascends to "prophecy" (1Co 13:2); then, to "faith"; then to benevolent and self-sacrificing deeds: a climax. He does not except even himself, and so passes from addressing th...
Read full commentary →Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Who hath also sealed us</strong> (σφραγισάμενος ἡμᾶς)—<em>sphragisamenos</em> (σφραγισάμενος, "sealing") evokes ownership mark (Rev 7:3), authentication (John 6:27), commercial security (Matt 27:66). Aorist participle: definitive past act with ongoing effect. Believers bear God's seal.<br><br><strong>And given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts</strong>—<em>arrabōna</em> (ἀρραβῶνα, "d...
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(22) **Who hath also sealed us.**—Better, *who also sealed us.* The thought thus expressed is that the gift of the Spirit, following on baptism or the laying on of hands, is as the seal of the covenant which God makes with His people, attesting its validity. (Comp. Ephesians 1:13; Ephesians 4:30; and, for the Jewish use of seals, Jeremiah 32:10.)
**And given the earnest of the Spirit.**—Better, fo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. mysteries--**(Ro 11:25; 16:25). Mysteries refer to the deep counsels of God hitherto secret, but now revealed to His saints. Knowledge, to truths long known.
**faith ... remove mountains--**(Mt 17:20; 21:21). The practical power of the will elevated by faith [Neander]; confidence in God that the miraculous result will surely follow the exercise of the will at the secret impulse of His Spiri...
Read full commentary →Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Moreover I call God for a record upon my soul</strong> (μάρτυρα τὸν θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν)—<em>martyra...epikaloumai</em> (μάρτυρα...ἐπικαλοῦμαι, "I call as witness") is oath formula (Rom 1:9, Phil 1:8, 1 Thess 2:5). <em>Epi tēn emēn psychēn</em> (ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχήν, "upon my soul/life") stakes Paul's existence—may God judge if he lies.<br><br><strong>That to spare you I came...
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(23) **I call God for a record.**—Better, *I call upon* *God as a witness against my soul.* The thought seems to come across St. Paul’s mind that the Corinthians will require a more specific explanation of his change of plan, and he finds this in what had been in part suggested in 1Corinthians 4:21. Had he carried out his first purpose, he would have come to punish or chastise. He had been, on thi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. bestow ... goods ... poor--**literally, "dole out in food" all my goods; one of the highest functions of the "helps" (1Co 12:28).
**give ... body to be burned--**literally, "to such a degree as that I should be burned." As the three youths did (Da 3:28), "yielded their bodies" (compare 2Co 12:15). These are most noble exemplifications of love in giving and in suffering. Yet they may be with...
Read full commentary →Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Not for that we have dominion over your faith</strong> (Οὐχ ὅτι κυριεύομεν ὑμῶν)—<em>kyrieuomen</em> (κυριεύομεν, "we lord over/exercise dominion") negates hierarchical control. Paul refuses spiritual tyranny—he doesn't manipulate Corinthian consciences. <em>Tēs pisteōs</em> (τῆς πίστεως, "the faith") is each believer's personal trust in Christ, not subject to apostolic coercion.<br><br><s...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Not for that we have dominion over your faith.**—Better, *are lording it over.* He has scarcely written, or uttered, the words which imply authority, when the thought comes to him that he may seem to claim too much. He shrinks from “lording it over God’s heritage” (1Peter 5:3), and half apologises for so strong a word as “sparing.” He puts forward, therefore, the other side of his work. He ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**4. suffereth long--**under provocations of evil from others. The negative side of love.
**is kind--**the positive side. Extending good to others. Compare with love's features here those of the "wisdom from above" (Jas 3:17).
**envieth--**The Greek includes also jealousy.
**vaunteth not--**in words, even of gifts which it really possesses; an indirect rebuke of those at Corinth who used the...
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