2Cor 2:16, 3:5 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 16. To the one . To those who perish. We are the savour of death unto death . We are the occasion of deepening their condemnation, and of sinking them lower into ruin. The expression here used means, literally, "to the one class we bear a death- conveying odour leading to their death"--a savour, a smell which, under the circumstances, is destructive to life, and which leads to death. Mr. Locke renders this, "To the one my preaching is of ill-savour, unacceptable and offensive, by their rejecting whereof they draw death on themselves." Grateful as their labours were to God, and acceptable as would be their efforts, whatever might be the results, yet Paul could not be ignorant that the gospel would in fact be the means of greater condemnation to many, . It was indeed by their own fault; yet wherever the gospel was preached, it would to many have this result. It is probable that the language here used is borrowed from similar expressions which were common among the Jews. Thus in Debarim Rabba, &1, fol. 248, it is said, "As the bee brings home honey to the owner, but stings others, so it is with the words of the law." "They (the words of the law) are a savour of life to Israel, but a savour of death to the people of this world." Thus in Taarieth, fol. 7, 1, "Whoever gives attention to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of life, (,) but to him who does not attend to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of death, () the idea of which is, that as medicines skilfully applied will heal, but if unskillfully applied will aggravate a disease, so it is with the words of the law. Again, "The word of the law which proceeds out of the mouth of God is an odour of life to the Israelites, but an odour of death to the Gentiles." See Rosenmuller and Bloomfield. The sense of the passage is plain, that the gospel, by the wilful rejection of it, becomes the means of the increased guilt and condemnation of many of those who hear it. And to the other . To those who embrace it, and are saved. The savour of life . An odour, or fragrance producing life, or tending to life. It is a living, or life-giving savour. It is in itself grateful and pleasant. Unto life . Tending to life; or adapted to produce life. The word life here, as often elsewhere, is used to denote salvation. It is life, (1.) in opposition to the death in sin in which all are by nature; (2.) in opposition to death in the grave--as it leads to a glorious resurrection; (3.) in opposition to eternal death--to the second dying--as it leads to life and peace and hey in heaven. See the words "life" and "death" explained . The gospel is "the savour of life unto life," because (1.) it is its nature and tendency to produce life and salvation. It is adapted to that; and is designed to that end. (2.) Because it actually results in the life and salvation of those who embrace it. It is the immediate and direct cause of their salvation; of their recovery from sin; of their glorious resurrection; of their eternal life in heaven. And who is sufficient for these things ? For the arduous and responsible work of the ministry; for a work whose influence must be felt either in the eternal salvation, or the eternal ruin of the soul. Who is worthy of so important a charge? Who can undertake it without trembling? Who can engage in it without feeling that he is in himself unfit for it, and that he needs constant Divine grace? This is an exclamation which any one may well make in view of the responsibilities of the work of the ministry. And we may remark, (1.) if Pau l felt this, assuredly others should feel it also. If, with all the Divine assistance which he had--all the proofs of the peculiar presence of God, and all the mighty miraculous powers conferred on him--Paul had such a sense of unfitness for this great work, then a consciousness of unfitness, and a deep sense of responsibility, may well rest on all others. (2.) It was this sense of the responsibility of the ministry, which contributed much to Paul's success. It was a conviction that the results of his work must be seen in the joys of heaven, or the woes of hell, that led him to look to God for aid, and to devote himself so entirely to his great work. Men will not feel much concern unless they have a deep sense of the magnitude and responsibility of their work. Men who feel as they should about the ministry will look to God for aid, and will feel that he alone can sustain them in their arduous duties. (a) "To the one" (*) "savour" "odour" (b) "who is sufficient"

2 Corinthians 2:16

Verse 16. To the one. To those who perish.

We are the savour of death unto death. We are the occasion of deepening their condemnation, and of sinking them lower into ruin. The expression here used means, literally, "to the one class we bear a death- conveying odour leading to their death"--a savour, a smell which, under the circumstances, is destructive to life, and which leads to death. Mr. Locke renders this, "To the one my preaching is of ill-savour, unacceptable and offensive, by their rejecting whereof they draw death on themselves." Grateful as their labours were to God, and acceptable as would be their efforts, whatever might be the results, yet Paul could not be ignorant that the gospel would in fact be the means of greater condemnation to many, 2Cor 2:15. It was indeed by their own fault; yet wherever the gospel was preached, it would to many have this result. It is probable that the language here used is borrowed from similar expressions which were common among the Jews. Thus in Debarim Rabba, &1, fol. 248, it is said, "As the bee brings home honey to the owner, but stings others, so it is with the words of the law." "They (the words of the law) are a savour of life to Israel, but a savour of death to the people of this world." Thus in Taarieth, fol. 7, 1, "Whoever gives attention to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of life, (,) but to him who does not attend to the law on account of the law itself, to him it becomes an aromatic of death, () the idea of which is, that as medicines skilfully applied will heal, but if unskillfully applied will aggravate a disease, so it is with the words of the law. Again, "The word of the law which proceeds out of the mouth of God is an odour of life to the Israelites, but an odour of death to the Gentiles." See Rosenmuller and Bloomfield. The sense of the passage is plain, that the gospel, by the wilful rejection of it, becomes the means of the increased guilt and condemnation of many of those who hear it.

And to the other. To those who embrace it, and are saved.

The savour of life. An odour, or fragrance producing life, or tending to life. It is a living, or life-giving savour. It is in itself grateful and pleasant.

Unto life. Tending to life; or adapted to produce life. The word life here, as often elsewhere, is used to denote salvation. It is life,

(1.) in opposition to the death in sin in which all are by nature;

(2.) in opposition to death in the grave--as it leads to a glorious resurrection;

(3.) in opposition to eternal death--to the second dying--as it leads to life and peace and hey in heaven. See the words "life" and "death" explained Rom 6:23. The gospel is "the savour of life unto life," because

(1.) it is its nature and tendency to produce life and salvation. It is adapted to that; and is designed to that end.

(2.) Because it actually results in the life and salvation of those who embrace it. It is the immediate and direct cause of their salvation; of their recovery from sin; of their glorious resurrection; of their eternal life in heaven.

And who is sufficient for these things? For the arduous and responsible work of the ministry; for a work whose influence must be felt either in the eternal salvation, or the eternal ruin of the soul. Who is worthy of so important a charge? Who can undertake it without trembling? Who can engage in it without feeling that he is in himself unfit for it, and that he needs constant Divine grace? This is an exclamation which any one may well make in view of the responsibilities of the work of the ministry. And we may remark,

(1.) if Paul felt this, assuredly others should feel it also. If, with all the Divine assistance which he had--all the proofs of the peculiar presence of God, and all the mighty miraculous powers conferred on him--Paul had such a sense of unfitness for this great work, then a consciousness of unfitness, and a deep sense of responsibility, may well rest on all others.

(2.) It was this sense of the responsibility of the ministry, which contributed much to Paul's success. It was a conviction that the results of his work must be seen in the joys of heaven, or the woes of hell, that led him to look to God for aid, and to devote himself so entirely to his great work. Men will not feel much concern unless they have a deep sense of the magnitude and responsibility of their work. Men who feel as they should about the ministry will look to God for aid, and will feel that he alone can sustain them in their arduous duties.

(a) "To the one" Jn 9:39, 1Pet 2:7,8 (*) "savour" "odour" (b) "who is sufficient"

2 Corinthians 3:5

Verse 5. Not that we are sufficient of ourselves. This is evidently designed to guard against the appearance of boasting, or of self-confidence. He had spoken of his confidence; of his triumph; of his success; of his undoubted evidence that God had sent him. He here says, that he did not mean to be understood as affirming that any of his success came from himself, or that he was able by his own strength to accomplish the great things which had,. been effected by his ministry. He well knew that he had no such self-sufficiency; and he would, not insinuate, in the slightest manner, that he believed himself to be invested with any such power. Jn 15:5.

To think any thing. λογισασθαιτι. The word here used means, properly, to reason, think, consider; and then to reckon, count to, or impute to any one. It is the word which is commonly rendered impute. See it explained more fully Rom 4:1. Robinson (Lexicon) renders it in this place, "To reason out, to think out, to find out by thinking." Doddridge renders it, "To reckon upon anything as from ourselves." Whitby renders it, "To reason;" as if the apostle had said, We are unable by any reasoning of our own to bring men to conversion. Macknight gives a similar sense. Locke renders it, "Not as if I were sufficient of myself, to reckon upon anything as from myself;" and explains it to mean that Paul was not sufficient of himself, by any strength of natural parts, to attain the knowledge of the gospel truths which he preached. The word may be rendered here, to reckon, reason, think, etc.; but it should be confined to the immediate subject under consideration. It does not refer to thinking in general; or to the power of thought on any, and on all subjects--however true it may be in itself; but to the preaching the gospel. And the expression may be regarded as referring to the following points, which are immediately under discussion:

(1.) Paul did not feel that he was sufficient of himself to have reasoned or thought out the truths of the gospel. They were communicated by God.

(2.) He had no power by reasoning to convince or convert sinners. That was all of God.

(3.) He had no right to reckon on success by any strength of his own. All success was to be traced to God. It is, however, also true, that all our powers of thinking and reasoning are from God; and that we have no ability to think clearly, to reason calmly, closely, and correctly, unless he shall preside over our minds and give us clearness of thought. How easy is it for God to disarrange all our faculties, and produce insanity! How easy to suffer our minds to become unsettled, bewildered, and distracted with a multiplicity of thoughts! How easy to cause everything to appear cloudy, and dark, and misty! How easy to affect our bodies with weakness, languor, disease, and through them to destroy all power of close and consecutive thought! No one who considers on how many things the power of dose thinking depends, can doubt that all our sufficiency in this is from God; and that we owe to him every clear idea on the subjects of common life, and on scientific subjects, no less certainly than we do in the truths of religion. Comp. the case of Bezaleel and Aholiab in common arts, Ex 31:1-6, Job 32:8.

(a) "sufficient of ourselves" Jn 15:5 (b) "but our sufficiency" 1Cor 15:10, Php 2:13