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

What sequence is there here? A very great one. Indeed, see. "I did not wish," he says, "to come to you, lest I grieve you with new reproaches, indignation, and aversion." Then, since this too was very sharp and convicted the Corinthians, as though by their way of life they grieved Paul, he wished to soften what had been said. He says, "For if I grieve you, who is he who makes me glad, but the one who is grieved by me?" The meaning of his words is this. "If it fell to me to experience grief when I was compelled to reproach you and see your sorrow from it, this very thing also brought me joy. It was a sign of your very great love for me, when I meant so much to you that my indignation alone could wound you." Notice the wisdom of the Apostle.

Though I grieve you, he says, by reproaches and by indignation toward you, yet by this very thing I also rejoice. I see that you respect me so much that my indignation and reproaches produce sorrow in you. No one gladdens me so much as one who is grieved in this way at the sight of my indignation. This shows that he does not despise me. He gladdens me, because in this way he gives hope of his correction.

If those sick in body trust physicians so much that they count them benefactors, even when they cut, cauterize, or weary them with bitter medicines, then it is shameful for us not to have the same disposition toward the physicians of our souls. By their severe treatment they accomplish our salvation, as the Apostle says: who will gladden me, if not the one made sorrowful by me? Therefore, looking to the end, we must consider as a benefactor the one who causes us grief for God's sake (2 Cor. 7:10).

For if I grieve you with the aim of benefiting you, and at the same time I myself sorrow, who will gladden me if not the one grieved by me? Who will comfort me if not you, by your childlike obedience and your correction? So a father or mother, while grieving their children, feel pain in their heart no less than the children whom they grieve. They do all this for the common benefit, for their own honor, and for the good of their children as active members of society, whether now or in the future.

For if I, your consolation, grieve you, then who will gladden me and you, if not the contrition and repentance of the one who has been grieved by me?

The Apostle says this because he does not wish to grieve the Corinthians. But since they were zealous in sins, it was necessary to grieve them, even against the Apostle's desire. This was so that correction might bring joy, and that those grieved by rebuke might rejoice when they had become obedient.

For what gladdens me so much as the sensitivity of those who are accused? It shows me the benefit produced by the accusations.

I judged this good, he says: not to come to you again in sorrow, that is, not to grieve those who sinned by my rebukes. The Apostle uses the following words, "for if I," instead of saying, "although I," as Oecumenius says on this passage. That is, although I grieve you, who else gladdens me if not the one who is grieved by me? But how did the one grieved by him gladden him? The one whom he rebuked for sins grieved when he considered their gravity. Then he repented of his falls into sin and turned to the path of virtue. "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted" (2 Cor 7:10). This repentance brought salvation to the grieving sinner, and filled Paul's heart with joy and gladness.

"If I make you sorrowful, who then is he who makes me glad?" If I came in order to cause you sorrow, what pleasure would I myself receive? For you alone can receive me and bring me joy.

The Apostle grieved over those who had sinned more than they themselves grieved. Therefore, if he himself had appeared in Corinth after learning of the Corinthian sinners, he clearly would have been compelled to use not only the measures he indicated in the first epistle, but greater ones as well. This could have led to bitterness, and even to a cooling of many in their disposition toward him. For only the wise man who is punished loves the one who punishes him even more. The foolish man hates him (Prov 9:8). Some, fearing to arouse hatred, remain completely silent when they see disorder among those entrusted to their guidance. But this is clear proof of insufficient love. The Apostle, however, burned with ardent love.

This passage is somewhat obscure. Yet from the connection of the discourse, one must see that Saint Paul here justifies his manner of acting by its success, and even counts it to the Corinthians' praise. Since correction was necessary, it could not take place without sorrow. Prudence required that this be done with as little sorrow as possible, or with sorrow almost unnoticed. This is what I did. I wrote to you, reproaching you and urging you to amend. Of course, this could not fail to be sorrowful, not only for those whom the rebuke touched, but also for all of you. But to what did this sorrow lead? To correction, and correction to my gladness. Who can gladden me more than the one who receives sorrow from me with such force?