2 Corinthians 2:1-17 - Triumph through Sorrow

2 Corinthians 2:1-17

1 But I determined this within myself, that I would not come again to you in sorrow. 2 For if I make you sorrowful, then who is he who makes me glad but the one who is made sorrowful by me?

Forgive the Offender

3 And I wrote this very thing to you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow over those from whom I ought to have joy, 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 to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you.

5 But if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me, but all of you to some extent—not to be too severe. 6 This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. 8 Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. 9 For to this end I also wrote, that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. 10 Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Triumph in Christ

12 Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, 13 I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus my brother; but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. 15 For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

We see sorrow in dealing with sin and putting it to death through forgiveness but we also are called to consider the triumphant life in Jesus Christ through the gospel.  This is why Paul had addressed gross sin at the church in Corinth with the determination of the emphasis on the outcome of triumph over the sin and not having to deal with it any further.  He rejoiced in the ones made sorrowful who dealt with the offense and emerged in triumph through repentance.  Yes, he looked forward to returning and having such joy as he wrote to them in the first letter to the Corinthians.  He shed many tears and had such anguish in his heart until he heard that the sin had been dealt with in a godly manner.  He did these things out of overflowing love for them as a good shepherd of Jesus Christ and not for his own sake or as if it was his own doing apart from Christ ministering through him.  He commended the church for their disciplinary actions in dealing with tough love in grace to the offender but pleaded with them to not forget to follow that with compassion and comfort to the repentant one to complete the church discipline as Jesus taught in Matthew 18:15–20 and reiterated in 1 Corinthians 5:12 as being the duty of the church to deal in this way with sin within the body and not to judge those in the world who are apart from Christ.  This is all to common a mistake to point out the sin of the lost and judge them when the word has already put them under judgment (John 12:48); we are called to church discipline to deal with fellow believers in sin, but not to condemn with fault-finding as we endeavor to confront and restore them to fellowship.  If we fail to forgive and seek restoration, we give the adversary the upper hand as he takes advantage of our misplaced attitude of non-confrontational actions.  We must not be ignorant of his devices to keep us from dealing with sinners in love for restoration as we attack and condemn those for whom Christ died to cover their sins in eternal forgiveness.  The apostle then linked this to how God always leads us in triumph in Christ as He diffuses His presence through us wherever we go in His name to minister the full gospel of dealing with sin in love and the deliverance from sin to both unbelievers and those within the church body.  We are to live and act as Jesus taught that we are like the fragrance of sacrificial incense of living sacrifices (Romans 12:1, 1 Peter 2:5, 9-10) to bring life and triumph over death and condemnation of judgment.  Therefore we also are to live in sincerity and love as we offer life in the forgiveness of sin with the sincere and clear gospel of hope and victory without adulterating the message with added requirements or prohibitions of our own making.  May we so preach the gospel of peace to answer the bad news of our sin’s eternal consequences with eternal life in the forgiveness and grace of Jesus Christ.  This is triumph through sorrow to those within and without the church.