Chapter 2
Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.
Just read this chapter →Scripture
KJV1But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
2For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?
3And 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.
4For 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.
5But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.
6Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many.
7So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
8Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.
9For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.
10To 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;
11Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
12Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord,
13I 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.
14Now 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.
15For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish:
16To 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?
17For 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.
“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.”
Overview
Paul explains that he wrote his previous letter out of anguish and love, not to grieve the Corinthians. He urges them to forgive and restore the offender who had caused grief, lest Satan gain an advantage through unforgiveness. Paul then describes his ministry as a triumphant procession in Christ, spreading the savour of the knowledge of God in every place.
Key Themes
Forgiveness and Restoration
The church is called to forgive and comfort the repentant offender, confirming their love toward him lest he be swallowed up with excessive sorrow.
Satan's Devices
Unforgiveness is one of Satan's devices to gain advantage over believers, making mercy and reconciliation essential to spiritual warfare.
The Savour of Christ
Believers are the aroma of Christ to God among both those being saved and those perishing, a fragrance of life unto life or death unto death.
Study Questions
Why is forgiveness so important that Paul warns Satan could gain an advantage through withholding it (v. 11)?
What does it mean for the church to 'confirm your love' toward a repentant person (v. 8)?
How are believers described as the 'savour of Christ' (v. 15), and what does this look like in everyday life?
What does it mean that the gospel is 'the savour of death unto death' for some and 'life unto life' for others (v. 16)?
How does Paul's example challenge our tendency to hold grudges within the church community?
Connection to Christ
Paul describes the believer's life as a triumphal procession in Christ, through whom God spreads the knowledge of His Son everywhere. Christ is the fragrance that believers carry, making them ambassadors of His saving work to the world.
Personal Reflection
Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through 2 Corinthians 2. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?