If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you to some extent—not to put it too severely. The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient. Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
- 2 Corinthians 2:5-11
In the section of his letter right before this passage, Paul wrote about feeling pain, causing pain, and avoiding more pain in the future. He also ended verse 4 with a statement about not wanting to grieve the Corinthians but instead desiring that they know his love for them. This passage echoes those same themes.
Scholars debate whether Paul is writing about a certain individual in this section or whether it’s general commentary. Paul does not name names, but some think that this refers back to the person guilty of incest in 1 Corinthians 5. However, others disagree with that as this letter is too far removed from that situation. Paul does not name any particular person he may or may not have had in mind.
In verse 5, Paul shares that for anyone who has grieved (or caused pain to) the Corinthian church, the result is not that Paul is caused pain but that everyone in their congregation is caused pain. One person’s sin against the congregation will be felt by the entire congregation, and Paul too as he feels responsible for them, though to a lesser extent.
Verse 6 gives us insight into discipline within the church at Corinth. Whatever Paul is writing about that was disciplined was clearly a public matter within the congregation. We don’t know what methods they used for discipline then, whether it was some kind of formal gathering, whether the punishment had been decided upon by a few people or a general vote, etc. But Paul indicates that the punishment was inflicted “by the majority,” and that punishment should be sufficient. We often like to keep reminding people of their wrongs, even after they have been appropriately disciplined, and Paul is cautioning against that here.
Discipline should serve not just as a punishment for a wrong that was committed but also to change the person. Paul emphasizes this in verse 7, instructing the people to forgive and comfort the individual. The point is not for that person to continue feeling sorrowful for what he did but rather to learn from it and be able to move on with life. Forgiveness involves healing from whatever wrong was done rather than continuing to remember and bring up the incident to continually punish the offender.
Another part of forgiveness is affirming love for the offender, as Paul writes in verse 8. If there has been a public discussion of the sin and a public punishment handed down, then there should also be a public reaffirmation of love to reinstate that individual back into the community, after he has been appropriately disciplined. This would also affirm God’s forgiveness in that person’s life. The community of the church would show God’s forgiveness in a tangible way to that individual by showing him their forgiveness.
In verse 9, Paul reveals that he was testing their faith and commitment. If the Corinthian church responded properly in carrying out discipline, then Paul would know that they were following his teachings and therefore working toward becoming better disciples of Jesus Christ. They would both need to start and end the disciplinary act appropriately in order to pass this test and prove that they view Paul as an authority over them to give them instruction on how to carry out such matters. It appears that the Corinthian church had passed Paul’s test.
Since they acknowledged that they do see Paul as an authority to teach them, Paul also needs to express forgiveness to the individual who requires this discipline (verse 10). But he also notes “if there was anything to forgive,” which implies that this may or may not have been an actual situation; it may have been general teaching rather than addressing a specific issue with a specific individual. Paul brings up Christ when discussing forgiveness, as it was Jesus who taught multiple times that forgiving one another is essential to living out the Christian faith. Forgiveness must be granted to keep unity in the church and for the sake of their relationships with one another.
Another purpose for this forgiveness is so that they do not give in to Satan’s evil schemes (verse 11). Withholding forgiveness from an individual who has repented and received appropriate discipline would bring disunity and grudges into the church, which are of Satan and not of God. Satan already had a hold on the individual when he committed the sin, and a lack of forgiveness would only increase that. There must be punishment for sin, but it must be administered in love and for the sake of correction, not just for punishment’s sake. The goal is reconciliation and repentance through forgiveness.
This is a powerful section of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians because it has great practical implications for our lives today. Paul urged the Corinthians to forgive and comfort the person who had caused grief with this sin. We, too, are called to heal broken relationships by extending forgiveness to those who have wronged us.
We are to reaffirm our love for them, even when it’s difficult because of how others have treated us. This reaffirmation of love is essential to build a community that is known for its love and unity. As Christ has loved us, so are we to love those in our Christian community.
Spiritual warfare is still a real thing in our world, as Satan seeks to lure us into sinful actions, which could then drag down an entire community if we’re not careful. Paul warns the Corinthians not to be ignorant of Satan's schemes. Unforgiveness and division within the community can create an opportunity for the enemy to hinder God’s work through us. Forgiveness is a spiritual weapon against the forces of evil, and we need to remember to use it.
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