As such, it is presented verbatim in its entirety below with the day’s title, highlighted words and phrases that touch my heart, my soul and/or raised questions in my consciousness.
With gratitude that the Spirit of the Living God is in our hearts!
Saint Paul at the beginning of this letter defends himself against the charges of inconstancy in the apostolate, of pride, and of selfish motives in his work. After a short appeal for a collection to help the poor in Jerusalem, he again refutes his enemies and vindicates his apostolic authority.
2 Corinthians Chapter 7:
Avoid all defilement:
Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Paul’s love for the Corinthians:
Make room for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I am not saying this to condemn you; for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you, great my boasting about you. I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our troubles.
Good news brought by Titus:
For indeed when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest; we had troubles on every side, conflicts without and anxieties within. But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus. And not by his arrival only, but also by the comfort which he himself experienced in you. He told us of your longing, of your sorrow, of your real zeal for me, so that I rejoiced yet more.
Paul’s letter brought repentance:
For you were made sorry according to God, that you might suffer no loss at our hands. For the sorrow that is according to God produces repentance that surely tends to salvation, whereas the sorrow that is according to the world produces death.
For behold this very fact that you were made sorry according to God, what earnestness it has wrought in you, nay, what explanations, what indignation, what fear, what yearning, what zeal, what readiness to avenge! In everything you have showed yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Titus pleased with the Corinthians:
This is why we have been comforted. But besides our own comfort, we more especially rejoiced at the joy of Titus, because his mind had been set at rest by you all.
And if I did boast to him at all about you, I have not been put to shame; but just as we have spoken all things in truth to you, so also has the boasting we made to Titus been found to be true.
And his affection for you is all the more abundant, as he recalls how obedient you all were and how you received him with fear and trembling.
I rejoice that in all things I can have confidence in you.
2 Corinthians Chapter 8:
Generosity of the Macedonians to the poor:
For according to their means—I bear them witness—yes, beyond their means, they gave, earnestly begging of us the favor of sharing in the ministry that is in behalf of the saints.
And beyond our expectations they gave themselves, first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us.
This led us to exhort Titus to complete among you also this same gracious work, of which he had made a beginning before.
May the Corinthians show like generosity:
Now, as you abound in everything—in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all zeal, and in your love for us—may you excel in this gracious work also. I do not speak as commanding, but as testing the sincerity of your own charity by means of the zeal of others. For you know the graciousness of our Lord Jesus Christ—how, being rich, he became poor for your sakes, that by his poverty you might become rich.
Their good will:
In this matter, I am giving advice. It is to your interest, since a year ago you not only began to do, but also to have the will. Now therefore complete the doing also; so that your readiness to begin it may be equaled by your desire to carry it through, according to your ability. For if there is willingness, it is welcome according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
Some day their needs will be supplied:
For I do not mean that the relief of others should become your burden, but that there should be equality; that at the present time your abundance may supply their want, and that their abundance may, in its turn, make up what you lack, thus establishing an equality, as it is written, “He who had much had nothing over, and he who had little had not less.”
The mission of Titus:
And we have sent along with him the brother whose services to the gospel are praised in all the churches; and what is more, who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in this work of grace which is being done by us, to the glory of the Lord and to show our own readiness.
We are on our guard, lest anyone should slander us in the matter of our administration of this generous amount. For we take forethought for what is honorable, not only before God, but also in the sight of men.
And we have sent with them also our brother, whom we have proved to be zealous often and in many things, but who now is more in earnest than ever, because of his great confidence in you, whether as regards Titus, who is my companion and fellow-worker among you, or as regards our brethren, the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.
Give them therefore, in the sight of the churches, a proof of your charity and of our boasting on your behalf.
2 Corinthians Chapter 9:
The collection to be made promptly:
Still, I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting concerning you should be found empty in this instance; that, as I was saying, you may be ready, lest, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say ourselves—should be put to shame for having been so sure.
I have therefore though it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you in advance and to get ready this promised contribution, so that it may be as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion.
God will reward their generosity:
Mark this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Let each one give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or from compulsion, for “God loves a cheerful giver.”
And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that always having ample means, you may abound in every good work, as it is written, “He has scattered abroad and has given to the poor, his justice remains forever.”
Those helped will glorify God:
The evidence furnished by this service makes them glorify God for your obedient profession of Christ’s gospel and for the sincere generosity of your contributions to them and to all; while they themselves, in their prayers for you, yearn for you, because of the excellent grace God has given you.
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!
2 Corinthians Chapter 10:
Paul does not wish to be severe:
Now I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who to your face indeed am diffident when among you, but when absent am fearless towards you!
But he can take severe measures:
Look at what is before you. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him reflect within himself that even as he is Christ’s, so too are we.
For even if I boast somewhat more about our authority (which the Lord has given for your upbuilding, and not for your destruction), I shall not be put to shame.
But that I may not seem to terrify you, as it were, by letters (“for his letters,” they say, “are weighty and telling, but his bodily appearance is weak and his speech of no account”), let such people understand that what we are in word by letters when absent, such are we also in deed when bodily present.
God has given him authority:
We, on the contrary, measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves with ourselves; and so we do not boast beyond our limits, but within the limits of the commission which God has given us—limits which include you also. For we are not going beyond our commission, as if it did not embrace you, since we reached even as far as you with the gospel of Christ.
He glorifies only in the Lord:
We do not boast beyond our limits, in the labors of other men; but we hope, as your faith increases, greatly to enlarge through you the province allotted to us, so as even to preach the gospel in places that lie beyond you, instead of boasting in another man’s sphere about work already done. “But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
For he is not approved who commends himself, but he whom the Lord comments.
Day 164: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Cleansed from All Defilement of the Flesh & the Spirit!
Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Second Epistle of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Chapters 7-10.
Bible Notes:
Saint Paul at the beginning of this letter defends himself against the charges of inconstancy in the apostolate, of pride, and of selfish motives in his work. After a short appeal for a collection to help the poor in Jerusalem, he again refutes his enemies and vindicates his apostolic authority.
2 Corinthians Chapter 7: Avoid all defilement; Paul’s love for the Corinthians; Good news brought by Titus; Paul’s letter brought repentance; Titus pleased with the Corinthians.
Avoid all defilement:
Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Paul’s love for the Corinthians:
Make room for us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. I am not saying this to condemn you; for I have already said that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you, great my boasting about you. I am filled with comfort, I overflow with joy in all our troubles.
Good news brought by Titus:
For indeed when we came to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest; we had troubles on every side, conflicts without and anxieties within. But God, who comforts the humble, comforted us by the arrival of Titus. And not by his arrival only, but also by the comfort which he himself experienced in you. He told us of your longing, of your sorrow, of your real zeal for me, so that I rejoiced yet more.
Paul’s letter brought repentance:
Wherefore, although I made you sorry by my letter, I do not regret it. And even if I did regret it, seeing that the letter did for a while make you sorry, now I am glad; not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.
For you were made sorry according to God, that you might suffer no loss at our hands. For the sorrow that is according to God produces repentance that surely tends to salvation, whereas the sorrow that is according to the world produces death.
For behold this very fact that you were made sorry according to God, what earnestness it has wrought in you, nay, what explanations, what indignation, what fear, what yearning, what zeal, what readiness to avenge! In everything you have showed yourselves to be innocent in the matter.
Titus pleased with the Corinthians:
If then I did write to you, it was not for the sake of him who did the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered the wrong; but to make clear the zeal we have for you, before God.
This is why we have been comforted. But besides our own comfort, we more especially rejoiced at the joy of Titus, because his mind had been set at rest by you all.
And if I did boast to him at all about you, I have not been put to shame; but just as we have spoken all things in truth to you, so also has the boasting we made to Titus been found to be true.
And his affection for you is all the more abundant, as he recalls how obedient you all were and how you received him with fear and trembling.
I rejoice that in all things I can have confidence in you.
2 Corinthians Chapter 8: Generosity of the Macedonians to the poor; May the Corinthians show like generosity; Their good will; Some day their needs will be supplied; The mission of Titus.
Generosity of the Macedonians to the poor:
Now we make known to you, brethren, the grace of God that has been bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia; where, amid much testing of tribulation, their overflowing joy and their very deep poverty have resulted in rich generosity.
For according to their means—I bear them witness—yes, beyond their means, they gave, earnestly begging of us the favor of sharing in the ministry that is in behalf of the saints.
And beyond our expectations they gave themselves, first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us.
This led us to exhort Titus to complete among you also this same gracious work, of which he had made a beginning before.
May the Corinthians show like generosity:
Now, as you abound in everything—in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all zeal, and in your love for us—may you excel in this gracious work also. I do not speak as commanding, but as testing the sincerity of your own charity by means of the zeal of others. For you know the graciousness of our Lord Jesus Christ—how, being rich, he became poor for your sakes, that by his poverty you might become rich.
Their good will:
In this matter, I am giving advice. It is to your interest, since a year ago you not only began to do, but also to have the will. Now therefore complete the doing also; so that your readiness to begin it may be equaled by your desire to carry it through, according to your ability. For if there is willingness, it is welcome according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
Some day their needs will be supplied:
For I do not mean that the relief of others should become your burden, but that there should be equality; that at the present time your abundance may supply their want, and that their abundance may, in its turn, make up what you lack, thus establishing an equality, as it is written, “He who had much had nothing over, and he who had little had not less.”
The mission of Titus:
Now thanks be to God, who has inspired Titus with this same zeal for you. For not only has he accepted our exhortation, but being very zealous himself, he has gone to you of his own choice.
And we have sent along with him the brother whose services to the gospel are praised in all the churches; and what is more, who was also appointed by the churches to travel with us in this work of grace which is being done by us, to the glory of the Lord and to show our own readiness.
We are on our guard, lest anyone should slander us in the matter of our administration of this generous amount. For we take forethought for what is honorable, not only before God, but also in the sight of men.
And we have sent with them also our brother, whom we have proved to be zealous often and in many things, but who now is more in earnest than ever, because of his great confidence in you, whether as regards Titus, who is my companion and fellow-worker among you, or as regards our brethren, the messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.
Give them therefore, in the sight of the churches, a proof of your charity and of our boasting on your behalf.
2 Corinthians Chapter 9: The collection to be made promptly; God will reward their generosity; Those helped will glorify God.
The collection to be made promptly:
For it is indeed superfluous for me to write to you with reference to this charitable service to the saints. For I know your eagerness, whereof I boast about you to the Macedonians—that Achaia has been ready since last year—and your zeal has stimulated very many.
Still, I have sent the brethren, lest our boasting concerning you should be found empty in this instance; that, as I was saying, you may be ready, lest, if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say ourselves—should be put to shame for having been so sure.
I have therefore though it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you in advance and to get ready this promised contribution, so that it may be as a matter of bounty, and not of extortion.
God will reward their generosity:
Mark this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Let each one give according as he has determined in his heart, not grudgingly or from compulsion, for “God loves a cheerful giver.”
And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that always having ample means, you may abound in every good work, as it is written, “He has scattered abroad and has given to the poor, his justice remains forever.”
Those helped will glorify God:
Now he who provides the sower with seed will both give you bread to eat and will multiply your seed, and will increase the growth of the fruits of your justice; that, being enriched in all things, you may contribute with simplicity of purpose, and thus through us evoke thanksgiving to God; for the administration of this service not only supplies the want of the saints, but overflows also in much gratitude to the Lord.
The evidence furnished by this service makes them glorify God for your obedient profession of Christ’s gospel and for the sincere generosity of your contributions to them and to all; while they themselves, in their prayers for you, yearn for you, because of the excellent grace God has given you.
Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift!
2 Corinthians Chapter 10: Paul does not wish to be severe; But he can take severe measures; God has given him authority; He glorifies only in the Lord.
Paul does not wish to be severe:
Now I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who to your face indeed am diffident when among you, but when absent am fearless towards you!
Yes, I beseech you that I may not when I come have to be bold, with what assurance wherewith I am thought to be bold, against those who regard us as walking according to the flesh, we do not make war according to the flesh: for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but powerful before God to the demolishing of strongholds, the destroying of reasoning—yes, of every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every mind into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being prepared to take vengeance on all disobedience when once your own submission is complete.
But he can take severe measures:
Look at what is before you. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him reflect within himself that even as he is Christ’s, so too are we.
For even if I boast somewhat more about our authority (which the Lord has given for your upbuilding, and not for your destruction), I shall not be put to shame.
But that I may not seem to terrify you, as it were, by letters (“for his letters,” they say, “are weighty and telling, but his bodily appearance is weak and his speech of no account”), let such people understand that what we are in word by letters when absent, such are we also in deed when bodily present.
God has given him authority:
Of course we have not the boldness to class ourselves or to compare ourselves with certain ones who command themselves.
We, on the contrary, measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves with ourselves; and so we do not boast beyond our limits, but within the limits of the commission which God has given us—limits which include you also. For we are not going beyond our commission, as if it did not embrace you, since we reached even as far as you with the gospel of Christ.
He glorifies only in the Lord:
We do not boast beyond our limits, in the labors of other men; but we hope, as your faith increases, greatly to enlarge through you the province allotted to us, so as even to preach the gospel in places that lie beyond you, instead of boasting in another man’s sphere about work already done. “But he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.”
For he is not approved who commends himself, but he whom the Lord comments.
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