2 Corinthians 7 Study Notes
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7:1 The phrase dear friends (lit “beloved”) is a statement of Paul’s strong affection for these believers, despite the tears they had caused him. Cleanse ourselves is not a reference to Christian baptism but to the daily spiritual cleansing that believers are to experience (Jn 13:10). Bringing holiness to completion indicates that growth in holiness is not optional. Believers are to become as mature and Christlike in this lifetime as they can, but the work will be completed only on the day of Christ (Php 1:6). On fear of God, see note at 5:11-12.
7:2-3 The false apostles had persuaded some of the Corinthians that Paul had wronged . . . corrupted, and taken advantage of them. He vigorously denied this. He believed he and the Corinthians shared common destinies.
7:4 Paul broke into an exuberant expression of gratitude for the success of Titus’s mission to Corinth. Paul’s ministry among them had not been in vain but at last had proven to be successful.
7:5 On Macedonia, see notes at 1:15-16; 2:12-13. Paul was returning to a narration of his travels. Philippi and Thessalonica were prominent Macedonian cities where the apostle had earlier planted churches (Ac 16-17). His conflicts and fears were not only because of the everyday pressure of ministry but especially because of his anguish over the state of the Corinthian Christians.
7:6-7 God uses human agents to bring divine comfort (1:3-7). God’s comfort came to Paul through Titus because of the Corinthians’ repentance.
7:8 The letter refers to the severe (and now lost) letter written after 1 Corinthians. See note at 2:3-4.
7:9-10 From us means “because of us,” that is, because of Paul’s letter. The loss he refers to is probably the same loss as in 1Co 3:14-15. Paul’s letter kept them from experiencing such a loss.
7:11 Paul reminded the Corinthians of the specific occasion, reported to him by Titus, when godly grieving had finally broken in on their congregation.
7:12 On I wrote, see note at v. 8. Paul was more concerned about the relationship between the Co-rinthians and himself (as disciples to their spiritual father; see note at 11:2-3) than he was about the troublemaker.
lupē
| Greek pronunciation | [LOO pay] |
| CSB translation | grief |
| Uses in 2 Corinthians | 6 |
| Uses in the NT | 16 |
| Focus passage | 2 Corinthians 7:10 |
The Greek noun lupÄ“ means pain, grief, or sorrow. The related verb lupeo means to cause pain or to grieve and occurs twenty-six times in the NT (15 of them in Paul’s writings; 12 in 2 Corinthians). In ancient Greek both lupÄ“ and lupeo could refer to pain experienced by the physical body, but most of the time the terms were used figuratively for mental and emotional anguish.
Four times in Paul’s writings lupÄ“ refers in a negative sense to his deep sorrow about spiritual matters, such as Israel’s unbelief (Rm 9:2), the pain he experienced because of the attitude of other Christians to his ministry (2Co 2:1,3), and the sorrow he felt at the near death of a fellow worker in the Lord (Php 2:27). Paul also used lupÄ“ to describe the grief caused by sin in the life of a Christian (2Co 2:7) and to explain that Christian giving should not be done reluctantly (lupÄ“) but by a cheerful heart (2Co 9:7). In 2Co 7:10 Paul contrasted the false grief of the world with the “godly grief” that leads to repentance, warning against the notion that any form of repentance is genuine.
7:13-16 Verses 5-12 describe the effect of the Corinthians’ change of heart toward Paul. These verses report the effect on Titus. Paul had predicted that the Corinthians would eventually repent, and Titus had been overjoyed when this turned out to be true.