2 Corinthians 2 KJV
Forgiveness for the Offender
2 Corinthians Chapter 2: Forgiveness for the Offender
The 'savour of Christ' metaphor in verses 14-16 evokes Roman triumphal processions where incense marked both victory celebrations and the execution of captives, framing the gospel as an aroma that simultaneously signals life and death depending on the hearer's response.
1ut I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
2 For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
3 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.
4 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.
5 But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
7 So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
8 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
10 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;
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christโs gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
13 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.
14 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.
15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16 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?
17 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.
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Did You Know?
The 'savour of Christ' metaphor in verses 14-16 evokes Roman triumphal processions where incense marked both victory celebrations and the execution of captives, framing the gospel as an aroma that simultaneously signals life and death depending on the hearer's response.
Paul's choice to send a tearful letter rather than visit Corinth (verses 1-4) reflects a calculated pastoral restraint modeled on Christ's own withdrawal from potential conflict, prioritizing the community's long-term edification over immediate confrontation.
The warning that unforgiveness allows Satan to 'get an advantage' (verse 11) positions church discipline as a form of spiritual warfare, where excessive sorrow can become a foothold for communal fragmentation rather than restoration.
The narrative pivot from the offender's forgiveness (verses 5-11) directly into Paul's restless spirit at Troas (verses 12-13) illustrates how unresolved relational wounds in one church could disrupt the apostle's broader missionary movements across Asia Minor and Macedonia.
By contrasting those who 'corrupt the word of God' with those who speak 'as of sincerity' (verse 17), Paul subtly indicts rival ministers using commercial language of peddling, implying that authentic apostleship rejects any commodification of the message.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain with myself โ in contrast to "you" (2Co 1:23). The same antithesis between Paul and them appears in 2Co 2:2. not come again... in heaviness โ "sorrow"; implying that he had alreadyโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on 2 Corinthians 2 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Reason why he had not visited them on his way to macedonia; The incestuous person ought now to be forgiven; His anxiety to hear tidings of their state from titus, and his joy when at last the good news reaches him.
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- with myself โ in contrast to "you" (2Co 1:23). The same antithesis between Paul and them appears in 2Co 2:2. not come again... in heaviness โ "sorrow"; implying that he had already paid them one visit in sorrow since his coming for the first time to Corinth. At that visit he had warned them "he would not spare if he should come again" (see on 2Co 13:2; compare 2Co 12:14; 13:1). See Introduction to the first Epistle. The "in heaviness" implies mutual pain; they grieving him, and he them. Compare 2Co 2:2, "I make you sorry," and 2Co 2:5, "If any have caused grief (sorrow)." In this verse he accounts for having postponed his visit, following up 2Co 1:23.
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- For โ proof that he shrinks from causing them sorrow ("heaviness"). if I โ The "I" is emphatic. Some detractor may say that this (2Co 2:1) is not my reason for not coming as I proposed; since I showed no scruple in causing "heaviness," or sorrow, in my Epistle (the first Epistle to the Corinthians). But I answer, If I be the one to cause you sorrow, it is not that I have any pleasure in doing so. Nay, my object was that he "who was made sorry by me" (namely, the Corinthians in general, 2Co 2:3; but with tacit reference to the incestuous person in particular) should repent, and so "make me glad," as has actually taken place; "for... who is he then that?" &c.
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