TOM · The Owner's Manual · New Testament

2 Corinthians 2

Chapter 2 in 30 seconds

Paul skipped a visit to spare them another painful one and wrote a letter through many tears instead. The man the church disciplined has turned around, so forgive him and love him again. Do not let Satan outsmart you. Paul says God leads us in Christ's victory parade.

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In this chapterField Notes · ArchaeologyA Roman Triumph · after verse 14

Reaffirm Your Love

¹So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. ²For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved? ³I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be grieved by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy. ⁴For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you.

⁵Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you—to some degree, not to overstate it. ⁶The punishment imposed on him by the majority is sufficient for him. ⁷So instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. ⁸Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him.

2CO 2:5[NOTE]Many believe this is the man from 1 Corinthians 5:1 to 5, put out of the church, now sorry and ready to come home. See the note on 1 Corinthians 5:5. Others think it is someone who insulted Paul on his painful visit. Either way, church discipline was meant to bring him back, and Paul says forgive him now.

⁹My purpose in writing you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. ¹⁰If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it in the presence of Christ for your sake, ¹¹in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

Triumph in Christ

¹²Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord, ¹³I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.

¹⁴But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. ¹⁵For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. ¹⁶To the one we are an odor that brings death, to the other a fragrance that brings life. And who is qualified for such a task?

2CO 2:14[FIELD NOTES]See A Roman Triumph Field Notes page.

Field Notes · Archaeology

A Roman Triumph

2 Corinthians 2:14 to 16

Titus rides in his triumph chariot while a winged Victory crowns him. Relief inside the Arch of Titus, Rome.

WHAT IT IS: A marble carving inside the Arch of Titus in Rome. It shows the general Titus riding in a four horse chariot in his triumph, the biggest victory parade Rome could give. A winged figure of Victory holds a crown over his head.
HOW OLD IT IS: The arch was built about AD 81, after Titus died. It honors the triumph he and his father held in AD 71 after destroying Jerusalem. That is about 15 years after Paul wrote, but triumphs had looked like this for centuries.
WHAT A TRIUMPH WAS: When a Roman general won a great war, he paraded through Rome. Soldiers marched, the treasures of the beaten nation were carried along, and prisoners walked in chains. Incense burned all along the route. At the end, some of the captives were put to death.
PAUL'S PICTURE: Thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ, 2:14. Jesus is the winning King, and Paul pictures himself as a captive happily marching in His parade. The incense smell meant celebration to the winners and death to the captives. Paul says we are the smell of life to some and death to others, 2:15 to 16.
WHERE IT IS TODAY: At the east end of the Roman Forum in Rome, Italy. The other side of the arch shows soldiers carrying the golden lampstand from the temple in Jerusalem.
WHAT IT CONFIRMS: Paul's readers lived in a Roman colony. They knew exactly what a triumph looked and smelled like.
WHAT IT DOES NOT PROVE: This arch is later than Paul's letter. It shows the kind of parade he meant, not one he saw.

CONFIDENCE: HIGH

¹⁷For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.

2 Corinthians 2

Reaffirm Your Love

Triumph in Christ

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