2 Corinthians 7:1-16
1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The Corinthians’ Repentance
2 Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have cheated no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn; for I have said before that you are in our hearts, to die together and to live together. 4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulation.
5 For indeed, when we came to Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were troubled on every side. Outside were conflicts, inside were fears. 6 Nevertheless God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming, but also by the consolation with which he was comforted in you, when he told us of your earnest desire, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more.
8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. 12 Therefore, although I wrote to you, I did not do it for the sake of him who had done the wrong, nor for the sake of him who suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear to you.
The Joy of Titus
13 Therefore we have been comforted in your comfort. And we rejoiced exceedingly more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I am not ashamed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, even so our boasting to Titus was found true. 15 And his affections are greater for you as he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. 16 Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything.
Because we have been called out of the darkness of sin and been given many promises for eternity, we are called to perfect our holiness in fear and trembling to please the Holy One in this journey of sanctification. We are told to continue to turn from sin to Him throughout our lives set in His direction to be well pleasing (2 Corinthians 5:9, Hebrews 13:21) children of reconciling grace in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Like the apostle Paul here, we should strive to be transparent and not manipulate others into faith and obedience but openly share our hearts of God’s grace and love for their own sake as fellow partakers of the crumbs we receive and offer them in the name of the Lord and for their edification. We are called to give our lives first to God in Christ and then to one another. As we then suffer for His name we can find joy and peace in our bold and open expression of the gospel and the word of God as we lay down our lives to live and die together. Even the faithful apostle admits that he had fears inside for his safety as outside conflicts raged about and against the gospel message and himself as he truthfully spoke it without sugar coating or compromising the truth. He told the bad news that we all are born sinners and are deserving of the eternal torment of our just due as he then told the rest of the truth that in Christ the good news brings hope and eternal happiness in reconciliation with the God in whose angry hands we entered the world with inherited sin for Adam which we expanded upon daily in disbelief and disobedience to Him all our lives. God comforts us in all our suffering and pressing circumstances of tribulation and often uses us for each other as He did with Titus to refresh Paul. We rejoice as the saints hear the word of God and respond in willing and heartfelt desire to race toward the goal of the heavenward call (Philippians 3:14) of God in Christ Jesus as each weeps with those who weep and rejoices with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15)! Paul had to address severe sin that plagued the body at Corinth and his goal was to have them deal with the sinner for restoration to fellowship and not to smite the offender with harsh punishment and permanent shunning. The goal was achieved as the sinner had repented and sought holiness as we are all to make our life’s pursuit, as the principle of godly sorrow producing repentance that leads to salvation was proven again, not to be regretted. He emphasized that the alternative would have been the sorrow of the world that only produces death and a certain judgment apart from the saving grace of Jesus resulting from godly sorrow and turning to Him from sin. The loving care of a shepherd was displayed here in dealing with a terrible sin just as we are to imitate as our example instead of harsh judgment to condemn fellow sinners. This is true church discipline displayed for us in Corinth that godly sorrow for sin can lead to healing within the individual and the body of the local church. The comfort of a penitent soul should bring us peace and joy, just as the church there welcomed Titus as the agent of the apostle to confirm the effectual repentance and restoration of the sinner even as the church feared yet responded in godly obedience to the word and gave Paul confidence in their handling of church discipline as defined in Matthew 18:15-20 for us all to follow. We pursue repentance to perfect the holiness of the sinner and the congregation dealing with the sin because we are one body in Him.
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