Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Corinthians
Chapter 2: Triumph in Christ
2 Corinthians 2 shows the heart of a true shepherd. Paul had written painfully, 'out of much affliction and anguish of heart... with many tears,' not to grieve the church but to show 'the love which I have more abundantly unto you.' Now that the offender has repented and been disciplined, Paul urges the opposite of harshness: 'ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow,' and to 'confirm your love toward him,' 'lest Satan should get an advantage of us.' Then Paul lifts his eyes from his own restlessness to praise: 'thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ,' spreading 'the savour of his knowledge... in every place.' The gospel is 'a sweet savour of Christ,' life to some and death to others, and Paul preaches it in sincerity, 'as of God, in the sight of God... in Christ.' The chapter shows us forgiving love, victory in Christ, and sincerity in the ministry.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Corinthians chapter 2. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Greek words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Paul urges the church to forgive and restore the repentant, guards against the schemes of Satan, and gives thanks to God who leads us in triumph in Christ. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Written with Many Tears
Paul's painful letter came from love, not a desire to grieve.
Forgive and Comfort Him
The repentant offender is to be forgiven, comforted, and reaffirmed in love.
Satan's Devices
Unforgiveness gives Satan an advantage; we are not ignorant of his schemes.
Always Causeth Us to Triumph
God leads us in triumph in Christ, spreading the fragrance of His knowledge.
Ye Ought Rather to Forgive Him (2 Corinthians 2:1-11)
Paul's painful letter sprang from love; now he urges the church to forgive and restore the repentant offender.
Confirm Your Love Toward Him
"But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness. For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me? And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all. For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."
Word Study
"forgive," Greek charizomai (χαρίζομαι). The word is built on charis, grace, and means to give freely, to show favor, and so to forgive out of grace. "Ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him." Christian forgiveness is not a grudging release but a gracious gift, the same free grace by which God in Christ has forgiven us: "forgiving one another... even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32, the same word). Paul had called for the offender's discipline (1 Corinthians 5); now that the man has repented, the same love calls for his restoration, "lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." Discipline and forgiveness are not opposites but the two hands of the same love: firm enough to correct, tender enough to restore. Paul even says he forgives "in the person of Christ", in Christ's presence and on His behalf, for the whole aim of discipline is not to destroy but to recover, mirroring the grace of the Lord who forgives freely.
Explanation
Paul explains why he delayed a visit — "that I would not come again to you in heaviness" — and why he wrote a painful letter instead: "out of much affliction and anguish of heart... with many tears," not to grieve them but to prove his abundant love. Now that the offender has been disciplined and repented, Paul urges the church to shift from punishment to mercy: "ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." Unforgiveness endangers the penitent — and plays into the enemy's hand, "lest Satan should get an advantage of us."
Gospel Focus
Paul opens his heart about the "painful letter" he had written (likely a severe letter between visits). He had chosen not to "come again to you in heaviness," and had written instead, but he wants them to understand his motive: "out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you." His rebuke was not the cold act of a critic but the tears of a loving father. Now the situation has turned. The offender, the man whose sin had scandalized the church, has been disciplined and has repented. So Paul, who once urged firmness, now urges grace: "Sufficient to such a man is this punishment... ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow." Discipline had done its work; now to press on would crush him. Paul pleads, "confirm your love toward him", reaffirm publicly the love that restores. This is the true goal of all church discipline: not to destroy the sinner but to bring him to repentance and then welcome him home. Paul adds a solemn reason to forgive: "lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." The enemy can use harshness and unforgiveness as surely as he uses sin itself; a church that will not restore the repentant hands Satan a victory. So the same love that dares to discipline must be quick to forgive, comfort, and reaffirm, that the restored sinner may be kept, and the enemy given no foothold.
Thanks Be Unto God, Which Always Causeth Us to Triumph (2 Corinthians 2:12-17)
Paul rises from his own restlessness to praise God, who leads His servants in triumph and spreads the fragrance of Christ through them.
A Sweet Savour of Christ
"Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ."
Word Study
"causeth us to triumph," Greek thriambeuo (θριαμβεύω). The word pictures the Roman triumph, the grand victory procession in which a conquering general led his train through the city amid clouds of incense and shouts of praise. "Thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ." God leads His servants as in a triumphal procession, the victory being Christ's, not ours; we are swept along in His conquest. And as the triumph filled the streets with the smell of incense, so God "maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." The apostles are carried in Christ's victory parade, and everywhere they go they spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. This is the confidence of the gospel worker: the outcome does not rest on his strength but on the triumph of Christ, in whom God "always" leads us. Our part is simply to be carried in His train and to give off the sweet fragrance of Christ wherever we are led.
Explanation
Paul breaks into praise: "thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ," picturing a Roman triumphal procession in which believers are led along and the knowledge of Christ spreads like fragrant incense. Yet that same aroma divides: "to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life" — the identical gospel that saves the believing condemns the rejecting. Faced with so weighty a task ("who is sufficient for these things?"), Paul distances himself from the peddlers: "we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God," but speak "in the sight of God... in Christ."
Gospel Focus
Paul mentions his restlessness: at Troas, though "a door was opened unto me of the Lord" to preach, "I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus," whom he anxiously awaited for news of Corinth. His love for the church left him unable to settle even where the gospel was fruitful. But from that honest confession of weakness he suddenly soars into praise: "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." Whatever his anxieties, the triumph is sure, for it is Christ's, and God leads His servants in it always. And through them He spreads "the savour of his knowledge," the fragrance of Christ, everywhere. Paul develops the image: "we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish." The same gospel, the same fragrance, has opposite effects depending on the hearer: "to the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." To those who believe, the message of Christ is the aroma of life; to those who reject it, the very same message becomes the aroma of death, for to spurn the Saviour is to seal one's doom. The preacher does not change his message to suit the hearer; the one gospel of Christ is life to the believing and death to the rejecting. No wonder Paul cries, "who is sufficient for these things?", who is adequate for so weighty a task, holding life and death in his message? The answer, unfolded in the next chapter, is that our sufficiency is of God. For now Paul contrasts himself with false teachers: "we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God", who peddle and adulterate it for gain, "but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." True ministry handles God's word with pure motives, conscious of God's presence, speaking in union with Christ. The gospel is Christ's own fragrance, carried in His triumph, to be preached in sincerity before the God who sees.
Chapter 2 in Review
2 Corinthians 2 reveals a shepherd's heart of love and a servant's confidence in Christ. Paul's painful letter had come "out of much affliction and anguish of heart... with many tears," not to grieve the church but to show his abundant love. Now that the offender has repented, Paul urges the opposite of harshness: "ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him," and "confirm your love toward him," "lest Satan should get an advantage of us." Then he lifts his eyes from his own restlessness to praise: "thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ," spreading "the savour of his knowledge... in every place." The gospel is "a sweet savour of Christ," life to the believing and death to the rejecting, preached not by those "which corrupt the word of God," but "of sincerity... in the sight of God... in Christ."
For the Apostolic reader this chapter joins forgiving love to gospel confidence. Church discipline aims always at restoration; when the sinner repents, the same love that corrected must forgive, comfort, and reaffirm, lest sorrow crush him and Satan gain a foothold through our hardness. And the servant of God labors not in his own strength but in the triumph of Christ, in whom God "always" leads us, spreading the fragrance of Christ wherever we go. That gospel is weighty beyond measure, for it is the aroma of life or of death to every hearer, so it must be preached with pure sincerity, in the sight of God, in union with Christ, never corrupted for gain. Forgive as you have been forgiven, walk in the triumph of Christ, and carry His fragrance faithfully, for our sufficiency is not in ourselves but in God.
- Paul's rebuke came from love and "many tears," not a desire to grieve (2:4).
- The repentant offender is to be forgiven, comforted, and reaffirmed in love (2:7-8).
- Unforgiveness gives Satan an advantage; we are "not ignorant of his devices" (2:11).
- "God... always causeth us to triumph in Christ," spreading His fragrance (2:14).
- The gospel is "a sweet savour of Christ," life to some, death to others (2:15-16).
- God's word is to be preached in sincerity, not corrupted for gain (2:17).
Questions for Reflection
- Are you quick to forgive and restore the repentant, or slow and grudging?
- Where might unforgiveness be giving the enemy "an advantage"?
- Do you labor in your own strength, or in the triumph of Christ?
- Do you handle God's word with pure sincerity, "in the sight of God"?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. Discipline aimed at restoration; forgiving the repentant: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15-17. Forgiving as God forgives; Satan's devices: 2 Corinthians 2:10-11; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:11. Triumph in Christ and the fragrance of His knowledge: 2 Corinthians 2:12-16; Colossians 2:15; Romans 8:37; 1 Corinthians 15:57. Sincerity in ministry; the word not corrupted: 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Forgiving and restoring the repentant; Satan's devices: 2 Corinthians 2:1-11; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 4:32.
- Triumph in Christ and the sweet savour of His knowledge: 2 Corinthians 2:12-16; Colossians 2:15; Romans 8:37.
- Sincerity in preaching the word of God: 2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Corinthians 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-5.