2 Corinthians 1:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"We are your boast, as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (v. 14). Here the Apostle, presenting the Corinthians as participants and companions in the glory of his deeds, prevents envy that might have arisen in them from his previous words.

"My boast," he says, "does not belong to me alone. It passes from me to you, and in turn from you to me."

Since he had exalted himself by pointing to his past deeds and promising the same in the future, he divides his glory with them. He does this lest his hearers reproach him as a haughty man, or, as I said, be carried away by envy.

He assigns to them also this crown of praise. "If," he says, "we truly are such, then our boast will also be your glory. Likewise, conversely, when you have a good reputation, we rejoice, triumph, and are crowned."

Here again the Apostle's words show his great humility. He does not speak as a teacher with disciples, but as a disciple with fellow disciples. Thus he moderates his discourse.

And see how he lifts the Corinthians to what is higher and accustoms them to philosophy, when he directs their thoughts to the great day of the Lord.

"Do not speak to me," he says, "of the present, that is, of reproaches, insults, and mockeries that we endure from many. Nothing earthly matters, neither joys nor sorrows, neither men's censures nor their praises.

"Rather, remember that fearful and dread day, on which everything will be revealed. Then we shall be glorified in you, and you in us.

"This will be so if it is revealed that you had such teachers, who taught nothing merely human, and who, living a blameless life, gave no occasion for scandal.

"And it will be so if it is revealed that we had such disciples, who did not act as ordinary men do. They were not shaken, but received everything readily and contradicted in nothing.

"Even now this is manifest to those who have the mind of Christ, but then it will be manifest to all. Therefore, if we suffer now, we also have no small comfort, both from a good conscience and from the revelation expected then.

"Now our conscience alone knows that we act in everything by the grace of God, as you also know and will yet know more fully. But then all men will know both our deeds and yours, and will see how we are glorified for one another."

Thus, lest the Corinthians think that all the glory from praise belongs only to him, he gives them also an occasion for boasting. By this he draws their attention away from present afflictions.

As he acted with regard to comfort, saying, "We are comforted for your comfort," so also here he acts, saying, "We boast in you, just as you boast in us." In this way he makes them participants with himself in everything.

They share in comfort, in sufferings, and in his very salvation, since he also attributes this salvation to their prayers when he says: "With you also helping together by prayer for us, God delivered us."

In exactly the same way he makes his boast common with the Corinthians. As there he said, "knowing that as you are partakers of our sufferings, so also you are partakers of the comfort" (v. 7), so here also he says: "We are your boast, as you also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

When shall we boast in one another? Even now, but especially on that day. For even now many see the slanders and insults we endure, and perhaps they slander us themselves.

But then, when everything is laid bare, it will be manifest concerning me that I am not what the slander of the false apostles portrays me to be.

You also will be our boasting, because you did not join yourselves to the deceivers.

Nor did he wish to act toward them as he would have acted if he had only wanted to exercise lordship over their faith. That would mean behaving as master over the whole order of their religious life.

On the contrary, he wanted to give them time to prepare for a more joyful meeting together. Since they were firm in faith, but had stumbled only in life and conduct, he decided to avoid every occasion for severity.

Instead, he wished to help their joy. Therefore he left it to them to hold judgment and discipline over the one who had greatly grieved both him and them, namely the incestuous man.

But since the offender repented, the Apostle adds at this point that it is better to forgive him. Otherwise Satan might triumph, for his devices are not unknown.

This grace was especially manifested in various wondrous gifts and great signs of the divine dignity of Christian preaching. By the grace of God, according to Bishop Theophan, "the Apostle means not only elevation, purity, and detachment from selfish strivings, but also the manifestation of God's power through them."

Saint John Chrysostom remarks, "The Apostles were not without reason comforted and boasted in this. They were assured in themselves that they acted not by human power, but accomplished everything by the grace of God."

"They did this not only in Corinth, but in the whole inhabited world. For he says, 'we conducted ourselves in the world, and more abundantly toward you.' What does 'more abundantly toward you' mean? It means, by the grace of God we conducted ourselves."

"Among you we performed more wonders and signs, and we were especially careful to conduct ourselves so as not to deserve reproach from you." For it is known that in Corinth he renounced his rights regarding the support of preachers of the word of God.

It is noteworthy that when the Apostle speaks of this circumstance (1 Cor 9:15), he proceeds from the fact that no one could make his boasting void.

Here too he speaks of boasting, but more positively. He affirms not only that, in the awareness of his pure conscience, he can be an object of boasting for them.

He is also certain that the Corinthians partly recognize this. Above all, he hopes that it will be fully revealed on the day of the common judgment of the Lord.

Then, for the Apostles too, those who believed through them will be their best boasting. Thus, besides himself, the Apostle calls the Corinthians themselves as witnesses of his sincerity and constant faithfulness to himself, and points to Jesus Christ Himself.

"Thus," says Saint John Chrysostom in the Apostle's name, "although we are now afflicted, we have no small consolation, both from a good conscience and from the revelation expected then."

"Now our conscience alone knows that in everything we act by the grace of God, as you also know and will yet know. But then all men will know both our deeds and yours, and will see that we are glorified through one another."

I assure you that on the Lord's day, that is, on the last day of judgment, we shall be a boasting for you.

The all-righteous and all-knowing Judge will praise you because you followed our word and sincerely believed it. And you will then be a boasting for us.

For this faith of yours, our Judge will not reproach us, but will praise us. So unquestionably true is our word that, even if in other respects we prove unworthy of praise at judgment, the most righteous Judge will praise us for this.

He will praise us because we transmitted this word to you and made you faithful to it. "See," cries Saint Chrysostom, "how he raises the Corinthians to what is higher and trains them in philosophy."

"He does this when he directs their thoughts toward that great day of the Lord. Then, he says, we shall be glorified in you, and you in us."

"It will be revealed that you had such teachers, who taught nothing human and, by leading a blameless life, gave no occasion for scandal. And we had such disciples, who did not act like ordinary men."

"They were not shaken, but accepted everything readily and in nothing opposed themselves with contrary thoughts. This is already manifest now to those who have the mind of Christ, but then it will be manifest to all."

"Thus, although we are now afflicted, we have no small consolation, both from a good conscience and from the revelation expected then."

"Now our conscience alone knows that in everything we act by the grace of God, as you also know and will yet know. But then all men will know both our deeds and yours, and will see that we are glorified through one another."

We, he says, will be your boasting on the Lord's day, and you will be ours. But of himself he said that, as he had always been faithful to God's truth, so he would not cease to be so henceforth.

Therefore, according to the logic of the discourse, he leads the Corinthians also toward a promise and resolve. As they had until now been faithful to the word received, so they must remain faithful to it henceforth.

They must do so not only in the measure of knowledge in which they had become participants until then, but in whatever measure they might come to know it.

There was no difficulty for the Corinthians in understanding that this was an unavoidable condition for not being put to shame at judgment. Teachers will be glorified for the fact that they taught.

But disciples cannot be glorified for hearing and receiving their teaching alone. This will serve for still greater condemnation if the receiving of teaching is not joined to following it sincerely and unwaveringly to the end.