18 Accents of Love
(2 Corinthians 6:11–13; 7:2–4)
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to us also. … Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. (6:11–13; 7:2–4)
The most difficult, painful experience for a faithful minister is to be misrepresented, to be falsely accused, to have one’s integrity unfairly attacked. Such assaults have the potential, by destroying people’s trust and confidence in the minister, of devastating his ministry. Such slanderous attacks are hard to retrieve and correct, because those who make them are not interested in the truth. Nor are they motivated by virtue, love, or righteousness, but rather by hatred, revenge, bitterness, jealousy, and self-promotion. Purveyors of such falsehoods do not seek the unity and blessing of the church, the glory of the Lord, or the good of those they attack.
Throughout history, God’s faithful servants have endured such slanderous false accusations. The whole early church was wrongly accused of atheism (because Christians rejected the Roman gods), cannibalism (based on a misunderstanding of the Lord’s Supper), and immorality (based on a misunderstanding of the “holy kiss” [Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5:14]). The papal bull excommunicating Martin Luther said of him, “This Luther favors the Bohemians and the Turks, deplores the punishment of heretics, spurns the writings of the holy doctors, the decrees of the ecumenical councils, and the ordinances of the Roman pontiffs, and gives credence to the opinions of none save himself alone, which no heretic before ever presumed to do” (Roland H. Bainton, Here I Stand [Nashville: Abingdon, 1950], 148).
Charles Spurgeon’s unwavering defense of biblical truth earned him many enemies. Speaking of the vicious attacks he endured, Spurgeon said, “Scarce a day rolls over my head in which the most villainous abuse, the most fearful slander is not uttered against me both privately and by the public press; every engine is employed to put down God’s minister—every lie that man can invent is hurled at me” (cited in Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1986], 60).
But no one endured more vicious, relentless, and unjust attacks than the patriarch of ministerial pain, the apostle Paul. The kingdom of darkness—Satan, the demons, and ungodly people—constantly assaulted him. At Corinth, as noted in previous chapters of this volume, that assault came from false apostles, who attacked his character and spread lies about him. They sought power, money, prominence, and the opportunity to supplant the truth with their demon doctrines. To accomplish those goals, they first had to destroy trust in Paul’s character and teachings by falsely accusing him of being a lying, self-serving hypocrite. The confidence of many of the Corinthians was affected, and they were doubting Paul.
Profoundly concerned, the apostle vigorously defended his integrity, not for his sake, but for the Corinthians’. He was the Lord’s personally chosen channel through which divine truth flowed to them. To allow the false teachers’ lies to go unchallenged would allow that flow of divine truth to be blocked. Worse, it would allow it to be replaced with false doctrine. Again, here, he reminded them of the integrity he had manifested during his long stay in their city (cf. Acts 18:11), in this text defending his love for them.
Heading the list of false accusations against Paul was the charge that he had no real affection for the Corinthians. The apostle, according to the false teachers, was abusive, manipulative, and dictatorial; he was merely using the Corinthians to further his own personal agenda. Therefore Paul repeatedly affirmed his love for the church. In 2 Corinthians 2:4 he wrote, “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not so that you would be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.” In 11:11 he added, “Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!” while in 12:15 he asked them plaintively, “If I love you more, am I to be loved less?” He also twice referred to them as his “beloved” (7:1; 12:19).
Paul defined the character of his love for the Corinthians in connection with his actions toward them. In so doing, he provided a clear-cut description of love in action (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4–8). This discussion of love brackets the intervening section (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1; see chapter 19 of this volume) dealing with separating from unbelievers.
As he described the essence of what real love is like, Paul expressed ten accents or characteristics of love: honesty, affection, fellowship, purity, humility, forgiveness, loyalty, trust, pride, and joy.
HONESTY
Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. (6:11)
Paul spoke freely (candidly, straightforwardly) to the Corinthians because love holds back nothing that would be profitable for its objects. The apostle reminded the Ephesian elders, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house. … I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God” (Act 20:20, 27). Jesus declared that “the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart” (Matt. 12:34), and Paul’s love caused him to speak honestly about three things.
First, Paul spoke honestly about God. He was candid and truthful about God’s Word and God’s standards. Earlier in this letter he defended his truthfulness, reminding the Corinthians, “For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand … by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2 Cor. 1:13; 4:2). In 4:13 he noted that he spoke the truth because he believed the truth, while in 13:8 he declared, “For we can do nothing against the truth, but only for the truth.”
Second, Paul spoke honestly about sin. Some argue that it is unloving to confront people about their sin, but Scripture affirms that truth and love are inseparably linked (Eph. 4:15). Paul lovingly, truthfully presented the gospel to the Corinthians, fully expounding the realities of sin and righteousness. He preached Christ crucified and all that that implied. He also confronted sin and called for their repentance, and in this letter warned them that he would not spare disciplining them (cf. 2 Cor. 12:18–13:3). He even challenged them to test the genuineness of their faith (13:5). In 2:9 he explained his motive in writing the severe letter (2:4) that he sent them between 1 and 2 Corinthians: “For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things” (cf. 7:8–10).
Finally, Paul spoke honestly about his affections toward the Corinthians. He loved them intensely, as the vocative expression, O Corinthians indicates. Paul’s heart was opened wide (lit., “enlarged” or “broadened”) to them; he had been open, candid, and vulnerable (cf. 4:2). The expression also means that there was plenty of room in his heart for them; in 7:3 he told the Corinthians, “You are in our hearts” (cf. 3:2; Phil. 1:7). That Paul could have them in his heart after all the sorrow they had caused him proves his love was genuine (cf. 2 Cor. 12:14–15).
AFFECTION
You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. (6:12)
Restrained is from stenochōreō, which literally means, “to make narrow” or “to confine.” Paul had not restrained the Corinthians; he had done nothing to cause any estrangement or hinder the relationship between them. On the contrary, they were self-restrained in their own affections toward him. A number of them had squeezed the apostle out of their lives and closed their hearts to him. They had believed lies about Paul and turned away from him to follow false teachers. As a result, they had left their affection for him.
The Corinthians’ rejection hurt Paul deeply. Yet despite that, he never lost his affection for them, because genuine love “bears all things” and “endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). That does not mean, of course, that Paul tolerated their sin and error. He disciplined and corrected them when necessary, but that reflected his true affection for them. Love and discipline are inseparable even with the Lord; “for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives” (Heb. 12:6).
FELLOWSHIP
Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to us also. … Make room for us in your hearts; (6:13; 7:2a)
Few things in life are more painful then unrequited love, because love longs for a response. Paul’s plaintive words express the penetrating sadness he felt over the Corinthians’ failure to return his love. Though they broke his heart, Paul’s love for the Corinthians would not allow him to abandon them. Instead, he pleaded with them, using the phrase in a like exchange; literally, “in an exchange that is exact.” Paul begged them to love him as he loved them—sacrificially, consistently, and permanently. He could speak to them as to children because they were his spiritual children (1 Cor. 4:14–15; cf. Gal. 4:19; 1 Tim. 1:2, 18; 2 Tim. 1:2; 2:1; Titus 1:4; Philem. 10), which made their rejection of him all the more painful.
Here is a tender, almost melancholy scene. The noble apostle did not hesitate to plead for the love of the most troubled of his churches. He was not too proud to open his heart and let them see that he was hurting. Even the discussion of separation that follows (2 Cor. 6:14–7:1) reveals Paul’s longing for the Corinthians to break away from the false teachers and return to him.
Then he reached out to them again, pleading, Make room for us in your hearts. The translators rightly added the phrase in your hearts, which does not appear in the Greek text, because it fits the context (cf. v. 3; 6:11, 13). Having reminded them that his heart was wide open to them, Paul begged the Corinthians to open wide their hearts and make room for him. The apostle knew that as long as they clung to their sinful associations with his enemies, their love relationship with him could not be restored. That made it all the more urgent for the Corinthians to follow his instructions in 6:14–7:1 and sever all ties with the false teachers.
PURITY
we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, (7:26)
Paul’s claim is especially appropriate in light of his exhortation to separate from unbelievers in 6:14–7:1. Despite the false charges leveled against him (cf. 4:2), Paul had wronged no one. Wronged is from adike?, which means “to treat unjustly,” or “to injure.” Those who made this charge may have had in mind Paul’s turning the incestuous man over to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5). But the apostle did not mistreat him but rather dealt properly with his sin.
Actually, it was the Corinthians who had wronged Paul; he had neither harmed nor corrupted any of them. Phtheir? (corrupted) refers to moral corruption, as its use in 1 Corinthians 15:33 (“Bad company corrupts good morals”) indicates. Again, it was not Paul, but his opponents who were guilty of ruining the Corinthians’ morals (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3). Paul’s love for the Corinthians expressed itself both in his own purity, and in his concern for theirs. He would never directly or indirectly, either by his teaching or his example, encourage any kind of immoral conduct.
HUMILITY
we took advantage of no one. (7:2c)
Love necessarily involves humility, for only humble people can love others unselfishly. Proud people, who love themselves, cannot love others. Pleonekte? (we took advantage of) refers to defrauding others by selfishly using them for gain. Specifically, it conveys the idea of manipulating people for financial gain, as its use in 12:17–18 indicates:
Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? I urged Titus to go, and I sent the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit and walk in the same steps?
Neither Paul nor anyone associated with him took advantage of the Corinthians financially, despite the repeated accusations by the false teachers.
In fact, the opposite was true. Rather than using the Corinthians for personal gain, Paul humbly, sacrificially endured suffering and hardship for them. “For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake,” he wrote earlier in this epistle, “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you” (4:11–12). Paul’s love for the Corinthian believers was so great that he was willing to risk his life for them (cf. John 15:13). His humble, self-effacing, sacrificial love did “not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:5); it did not “merely look out for [its] own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4).
FORGIVENESS
I do not speak to condemn you, (7:3a)
Paul did not want the Corinthians to interpret his strong defense of his integrity in verse 2 (or elsewhere) as an attack on them. Katakrisis (condemn) refers to passing final judgment. In its only other New Testament appearance, it refers to the Law’s work of condemning sinners (3:9). Paul was not passing a final verdict on them; he was not giving up on them. He was not angry; he was not consigning them to final judgment. He did not want to sever his relationship with them, but restore it. Therefore he rebuked their sin and rebellion and called for them to repent and reaffirm their loyalty to him. The apostle knew the truth that Solomon expressed: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend” (Prov. 27:6). Paul was a noble example of genuine biblical love, which “does not take into account a wrong suffered” (1 Cor. 13:5), “because love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8).
LOYALTY
for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. (7:3b)
Paul’s declaration, You are in our hearts repeats his thought from 6:11. The phrase to die together and to live together reflects Paul’s undying loyalty to the Corinthians. Colin G. Kruse explains:
In the papyri the expression “to live together and to die together” is found where mutual friendship and loyalty are extolled. The idea is that those involved have a friendship that will be sustained throughout life and will keep them together even if death is involved (cf. Mk. 14:31). In his affirmation of friendship Paul reverses the order, i.e., not to live and die, but to die and live together, and this reflects a fundamental Christian outlook. (The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995], 142)
Further, that relationship will transcend death and last forever in the glory of heavenly life. Paul’s love was loyal to the death, like that of Ruth, who said to Naomi,
Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me. (Ruth 1:16–17)
TRUST
Great is my confidence in you; (7:4a)
At first glance, this is an astonishing, even shocking, statement. The Corinthian church was the most trouble-plagued of any New Testament church. Yet Paul was open and bold, freely speaking (parrēsia [confidence] can also be translated “freedom of speech”) of the work of the Lord in that assembly. Certainly, then, Paul’s great trust and confidence in the Corinthians was not based on their track record. In fact, their performance called for cautious scrutiny, not open trust. But true love, though not naïve, “believes all things, [and] hopes all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). It is extremely reluctant to believe anything but the best about its objects.
That does not, of course, reflect the modern myth that positive thoughts make good things happen. Paul’s hope was not that his positive attitude would change the Corinthians. True biblical love does not make good things happen, but believes and hopes for them.
Therefore, despite their unfaithfulness, disloyalty, and sin, Paul maintained his confidence in the Corinthians—not because of them, but because he knew that God would complete the saving work He had begun in them (cf. Phil. 1:6).
PRAISE
great is my boasting on your behalf. (7:4b)
That Paul would engage in boasting on behalf of a church filled with immaturity, disloyalty, doubt, and disaffection is amazing. Though kauchēsis (boasting) can have the negative connotation of pride (e.g., Rom. 3:27; James 4:16), it more often has the positive connotation of praise, as it does here (cf. 2 Cor. 7:14; 8:24; 11:10, 17; Rom. 15:17; 1 Cor. 15:31). Proper boasting is that which is done in the Lord (2 Cor. 10:17; 1 Cor. 1:31), and Paul’s boast of praise was of what the Lord was doing in the Corinthian church. He boasted to Titus, as 2 Corinthians 7:14 records: “For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth.” Paul also boasted about the Corinthians to other churches: “Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you” (8:24). Paul was eager to praise the Lord for them despite all their shortcomings. This is evidence of the genuineness of his love.
JOY
I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. (7:4c)
Even more surprising than Paul’s trust in and praise for the Corinthians was that they brought him joy. Despite all the problems they caused him, Paul used a perfect passive indicative verb to say that he had been and still was filled with comfort. No amount of affliction could stem the overflowing joy he felt. Not only Paul, but also Titus experienced joy because of the Corinthians (7:13).
These ten accents of genuine love are reflections of God’s love for believers. He loves them enough to be honest and has a deep affection for them so that He is grieved when sin disrupts their fellowship with Him. God’s love also causes Him to desire His people’s purity (Titus 2:14). Because of that, the Lord Jesus Christ “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8) so that believers’ sins could be forgiven. His love also ensures God’s eternal loyalty to His people (Heb. 13:5) and causes Him to entrust them with the gospel (1 Thess. 2:4). And God loves His people, takes pride in them, and rejoices over them (cf. Ps. 149:4; Zeph. 3:17). Taking Paul as their model, believers are to love others the way God loves them.