2Cor 7:16 | KingComments | STEP | . To cause grief is never a pleasant thing. Also for Paul it was not a pleasure to write to the Corinthians about things that were wrong with them. But now he rejoices because their sorrow proved that they were brought to their senses and that they repented. They realized how low they had dropped in their spiritual condition. This led to their repentance. Do you realize that repentance is not something only for unbelievers? It applies to believers also. When a believer deviates from the right path by allowing sin in his life he must repent for it. In the book of Revelation you read in chapters 2-3 over and again of the call to the different local churches to repent for their wrong doing. Genuine sorrow will bring a sinner to honest confession and he spontaneously goes to God with it. Confession is not something enjoyable. You will certainly find it unpleasant when you have to admit that you have sinned. But where there is such acknowledgment there is joy. Paul rejoiced that the Corinthians understood their faults and confessed them to God. His letter therefore caused no damage but brought profit. . Sorrow according to the will of God is something which you will never retreat nor regret. That means you have the same kind of feelings of grief over sin as God Himself. This is not a sorrow as seen in the world. People who take no account of God are also sad about the wrong things they committed; but that is not sorrow according to the will of God. The sorrow of the world has nothing to do with sin. It has only to do with the misery that they brought upon themselves. They regret their acts when they suffer the consequences; but they never regret the act itself. The sorrow of the world does not lead to repentance but to second death which lasts for eternity. Sometimes the sorrow of the world is so intense that people in their desperation even commit suicide. Are you desperate about the sins you committed in the past? The devil might whisper in your ears that your sins are too big to be forgiven. But he is lying. Read 1 John 1:9 ( ) and do what it says and believe what it says. . The Corinthians proved that their sorrow and their repentance were genuine. Paul had written to them earlier that they should remove the evil from their midst ( ). Now he can testify that they had shown “earnestness” in the way they dealt with sin and evil. Their earnestness was associated with “vindication” or “excusing” [this is a better rendering of the word]. They asked, so to speak, the Lord and also Paul to forgive them for their lax attitude and now they even showed “indignation” for the evil they had allowed in their midst earlier. That indignation was not of a fleshly nature, as if they were better than the evildoer. Therefore it says there is “fear” with them, because they know themselves a bit better now. None can exalt himself over someone who sinned, for he is able to commit the same sin himself. That’s why Galatians 6 says that the one who has to deal with the sin of a fellow believer must do so “looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” ( ). In this spirit the Corinthians could exercise discipline over the evil one mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5. They were seized by a “longing” that impelled them to act as God asked them to do. They showed “zeal” again for the glory of the Lord Jesus in the church. They put everything back in order and that act brought them to the “avenging of wrong”, which means the authentication of their genuine repentance and their zeal to punish evil. Their attitude and the manner of handling issues also showed that they no longer wanted to have anything to do with the sin that happened and was tolerated among them without dealing with it. Thereby they proved themselves “to be innocent in the matter”. . Paul returns to his first letter and says that it was written not primarily because of the one who did wrong or because of the one who suffered wrong. His letter was a kind of a test for them to see if they would obey him. If they would follow the instructions given in it, then it is evidence that they still recognized Paul as a servant of God. By this they also showed that in Paul they met God. Paul’s letter must have given them the feeling that their relationship is directly with God Himself. Happily this had happened and the report from Titus about it comforted him very much. . Paul cannot be silent about the comfort and joy he experienced through their attitude and their way of handling issues. He speaks about them over and again in this chapter. Paul is overwhelmed by the joy of Titus. By what Titus witnessed among the Corinthians he was not only “comforted” ( ) but he also was “refreshed”. He had thus, so to speak, received new courage. Isn’t it encouraging that someone breaks his ties with sin and makes a new beginning with the Lord? This will refresh you. . Paul had another reason for his overflowing joy. He had boasted to Titus about the Corinthians on some matters, of course in a good sense. This is really beautiful. There were many things to criticize. I do not know if Paul told Titus all about them. But there were also good things to share and Paul had done that anyway. He expressed his confidence that they would obey him. Now that his boasting has turned out to be true Paul is not ashamed of the Corinthians. He had told the truth to the Corinthians and to Titus he had mentioned the positive things about the Corinthians. This is an important lesson. If you see in someone things that are not good, then talk to him about them. But when you talk to another about him, talk about the good things you also know about that person. . When Titus thought of the way the Corinthians received him, he felt an overflowing love for them. He again saw how obedient they were, and also their fear and their trembling. Their complacent attitude as sounded in the first letter has disappeared. Titus was able to see the real work of the Spirit in their midst. When the Spirit receives access to the life of the church obedience to the Word of God is the inevitable result. Fear and trembling are the characteristics of believers who have learned to judge their own views and their own acts before God. They know very well that nothing good can come out of them. That is why they fear and they only want to hear the Word of God. . You can be confident of a local church which works on such a basis. Then everything that is still not in order will come to order. Paul had every reason to be confident about the Corinthians. Can you say the same of the local church you belong to? Now read 2 Corinthians 7:9-16 again. Reflection: How are you talking to others about your brother or sister: in a good or in a bad sense?

‏ 2 Corinthians 7:16

Godly Sorrow

2Cor 7:9. To cause grief is never a pleasant thing. Also for Paul it was not a pleasure to write to the Corinthians about things that were wrong with them. But now he rejoices because their sorrow proved that they were brought to their senses and that they repented. They realized how low they had dropped in their spiritual condition. This led to their repentance.

Do you realize that repentance is not something only for unbelievers? It applies to believers also. When a believer deviates from the right path by allowing sin in his life he must repent for it. In the book of Revelation you read in chapters 2-3 over and again of the call to the different local churches to repent for their wrong doing.

Genuine sorrow will bring a sinner to honest confession and he spontaneously goes to God with it. Confession is not something enjoyable. You will certainly find it unpleasant when you have to admit that you have sinned. But where there is such acknowledgment there is joy. Paul rejoiced that the Corinthians understood their faults and confessed them to God. His letter therefore caused no damage but brought profit.

2Cor 7:10. Sorrow according to the will of God is something which you will never retreat nor regret. That means you have the same kind of feelings of grief over sin as God Himself. This is not a sorrow as seen in the world. People who take no account of God are also sad about the wrong things they committed; but that is not sorrow according to the will of God. The sorrow of the world has nothing to do with sin. It has only to do with the misery that they brought upon themselves.

They regret their acts when they suffer the consequences; but they never regret the act itself. The sorrow of the world does not lead to repentance but to second death which lasts for eternity. Sometimes the sorrow of the world is so intense that people in their desperation even commit suicide.

Are you desperate about the sins you committed in the past? The devil might whisper in your ears that your sins are too big to be forgiven. But he is lying. Read 1 John 1:9 (1Jn 1:9) and do what it says and believe what it says.

2Cor 7:11. The Corinthians proved that their sorrow and their repentance were genuine. Paul had written to them earlier that they should remove the evil from their midst (1Cor 5:13b). Now he can testify that they had shown “earnestness” in the way they dealt with sin and evil.

Their earnestness was associated with “vindication” or “excusing” [this is a better rendering of the word]. They asked, so to speak, the Lord and also Paul to forgive them for their lax attitude and now they even showed “indignation” for the evil they had allowed in their midst earlier. That indignation was not of a fleshly nature, as if they were better than the evildoer. Therefore it says there is “fear” with them, because they know themselves a bit better now.

None can exalt himself over someone who sinned, for he is able to commit the same sin himself. That’s why Galatians 6 says that the one who has to deal with the sin of a fellow believer must do so “looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted” (Gal 6:1). In this spirit the Corinthians could exercise discipline over the evil one mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5.

They were seized by a “longing” that impelled them to act as God asked them to do. They showed “zeal” again for the glory of the Lord Jesus in the church. They put everything back in order and that act brought them to the “avenging of wrong”, which means the authentication of their genuine repentance and their zeal to punish evil. Their attitude and the manner of handling issues also showed that they no longer wanted to have anything to do with the sin that happened and was tolerated among them without dealing with it. Thereby they proved themselves “to be innocent in the matter”.

2Cor 7:12. Paul returns to his first letter and says that it was written not primarily because of the one who did wrong or because of the one who suffered wrong. His letter was a kind of a test for them to see if they would obey him. If they would follow the instructions given in it, then it is evidence that they still recognized Paul as a servant of God. By this they also showed that in Paul they met God. Paul’s letter must have given them the feeling that their relationship is directly with God Himself. Happily this had happened and the report from Titus about it comforted him very much.

2Cor 7:13. Paul cannot be silent about the comfort and joy he experienced through their attitude and their way of handling issues. He speaks about them over and again in this chapter. Paul is overwhelmed by the joy of Titus. By what Titus witnessed among the Corinthians he was not only “comforted” (2Cor 7:7) but he also was “refreshed”. He had thus, so to speak, received new courage. Isn’t it encouraging that someone breaks his ties with sin and makes a new beginning with the Lord? This will refresh you.

2Cor 7:14. Paul had another reason for his overflowing joy. He had boasted to Titus about the Corinthians on some matters, of course in a good sense. This is really beautiful. There were many things to criticize. I do not know if Paul told Titus all about them. But there were also good things to share and Paul had done that anyway. He expressed his confidence that they would obey him. Now that his boasting has turned out to be true Paul is not ashamed of the Corinthians. He had told the truth to the Corinthians and to Titus he had mentioned the positive things about the Corinthians.

This is an important lesson. If you see in someone things that are not good, then talk to him about them. But when you talk to another about him, talk about the good things you also know about that person.

2Cor 7:15. When Titus thought of the way the Corinthians received him, he felt an overflowing love for them. He again saw how obedient they were, and also their fear and their trembling. Their complacent attitude as sounded in the first letter has disappeared. Titus was able to see the real work of the Spirit in their midst.

When the Spirit receives access to the life of the church obedience to the Word of God is the inevitable result. Fear and trembling are the characteristics of believers who have learned to judge their own views and their own acts before God. They know very well that nothing good can come out of them. That is why they fear and they only want to hear the Word of God.

2Cor 7:16. You can be confident of a local church which works on such a basis. Then everything that is still not in order will come to order. Paul had every reason to be confident about the Corinthians. Can you say the same of the local church you belong to?

Now read 2 Corinthians 7:9-16 again.

Reflection: How are you talking to others about your brother or sister: in a good or in a bad sense?