2 Corinthians 1:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

A fleshly man, says Paul, that is, one attached to the present, always living in the present and remaining outside the action of the Spirit of God, can go everywhere and wander where he likes.

By contrast, a servant of the Spirit of God, led and governed by Him, cannot always be master of his own will, because he depends on the authority of the Spirit.

This is what the words mean: "I do not undertake according to the flesh." That is, I am under the governance of the Spirit of God and do not have authority to go where I wish.

For I am subject to the dominion and commands of the Comforter, and His voice guides and governs me. Therefore I could not come to you: this was not pleasing to the Spirit of God.

Here he justifies himself more clearly concerning the delay. He says that he wished to come to them. But why did he not come?

Was it because I am frivolous and inconstant, reasoning now one way and now another? No. Or do I desire according to the flesh, that is, in a merely human way, and am I guided by my own will?

Is whatever I myself decide then carried out by me, whether it is yes or no? Certainly not. Rather, I am under the governance of the Spirit and have no authority to go where I wish, but only where He commands.

Therefore with me "yes" often does not become "yes," because it is not pleasing to the Spirit. And "no" does not become "no," because what I deny, the Spirit commands.

Why, then, did Paul say, "I intended to come to you," and not come? In connection with this he asks, "Did I act lightly?"

So that they would not think this of the Apostle, he himself rejects such suspicions. It was not from frivolity, but with due reason, that he acted so and did not fulfill what he had originally intended to do.

"Or what I undertake, do I undertake according to the flesh?" Whoever undertakes something according to the flesh does not fulfill what he has promised when he is detained by more influential persons.

Or he is overcome by advantages or splendid preparations, all of which the Apostle Paul always despised. But if a spiritual man does not do what he intends, it is because his mind is occupied with thoughts of action for the salvation of the soul.

The Apostle presented two objections. The first is this: "I am not frivolous. I do not have such swift changes of intention as to choose first one thing and then another."

The second objection is this: "I am not enslaved to passion, so that, one way or another, I must fulfill my desire." This is what he expresses in the words, "or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh, so that with me there should be yes, yes, and no, no?"

Whoever follows the desires of the flesh is carried away by his own thoughts, even if they are utterly absurd. But whoever forms a sober intention, even if the thing intended is good, does not carry out his purpose if he notices that it will not benefit others.

But when something more profitable presented itself, he openly acknowledges that he could not fulfill his promise: "Having this intention, did I act lightly? Or what I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, so that with me there should be both 'Yes, yes' and 'No, no'?"

I deliberate according to the flesh. That is, the Apostle says: Is what I now undertake accomplished only by my own powers and whim, and not by God's will? Can what I have once undertaken be changed by me, according to the human instability of desires? By this the Apostle wished to show that his coming or not coming to the Corinthians depended not on him, but on the will of God.

Having declared the simplicity and godly sincerity of his deeds and writings in general, the Apostle suggests that the Corinthians should not see any frivolity or changeability in the fact that he is now coming to them by a different route than he had previously planned.

Still less should they allow, on this occasion, even the slightest supposition that Paul's preaching of Christ itself was "yes" and "no," that is, changeable, confused, and false.

Calling God as witness with an oath (2 Cor 2:23, showing the lawfulness of oaths in necessary cases), the holy Apostle Paul reveals the true reason for his delays.

He had not yet gone to them because he was sparing the Corinthians themselves, that is, so as not to come to them with strict measures.

Having first shown that the Apostle's change of the previously intended plan, mentioned in the first epistle, cannot be interpreted in a bad sense, he now points out the reasons and grounds according to which he thought to act.

Out of love for the Corinthians, and desiring to bring them not only the consolation of seeing him but also testimonies of the gospel word, various gifts and miracles, the Apostle wished and perhaps orally promised to be with them sooner than he wrote in the first epistle, chapter 16.

But since he was not entirely master of himself, but was subject to the authority and commands of the Spirit of God, he could not fulfill what was only the desire of his heart.

This passage will not be entirely clear or connected with what precedes and follows unless one supplies the thought that the Apostle is now speaking about the change in his travel plan. All our interpreters do this.

Here are Saint Chrysostom's words for them all. "Here the Apostle directly turns aside the charge that he failed to fulfill his promise to come to the Corinthians."

"The meaning of his words is this: I wished to come to you. Why, then, did I not come? Was it from frivolity or inconstancy? For this is what the words mean: did I act lightly? No."

"Why then? Because the things I plan, I do not plan according to the flesh. What does 'I do not plan according to the flesh' mean? Not as a fleshly man, so that with me there should be yes, yes, and no, no."