But God, who comforteth the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus.
αλλ ο παρακαλων τους ταπεινους παρεκαλεσεν ημας ο θεος εν τη παρουσια τιτου
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Notice how highly the Apostle everywhere values the arrival of Titus. By this he wishes to instill in the Corinthians trust and love toward this man.
Nothing helps and furthers friendship so much as a good and favorable testimony about someone. Concerning Titus, the Apostle testifies that, when he arrived, he lifted us up with joy.
Since he said much in praise of the Corinthians, he brings Titus as a witness. Who comforts the humble? God, he says.
He also comforted us by sending Titus, for his arrival was enough to disperse our sorrow. He also wants to present this man to them as worthy of respect, and therefore attributes great importance to his arrival.
But God, who comforts the humble, that is, the persecuted, comforted us by the arrival of Titus.
I caused him great anxiety, for he heeded my entreaties and gave himself over to death. He came at the height of the persecution and strengthened the unstable who are among you.
Since God does not forget His own, but always gives consolation in sufferings, He hastened the arrival of Titus in order to lighten the condition of those who suffered. For it is a great consolation to one who suffers when someone who shares his pain is nearby.
Here the Apostle’s aim is to show the virtue of blessed Titus and to kindle love for him in the Corinthians, because Titus served in the sending of this epistle.
Therefore the Apostle said that as soon as Titus appeared, this alone was sufficient to disperse the sorrows that assailed him.
Returning to his interrupted account of the reasons that delayed his arrival in Corinth, the Apostle expresses the joy and consolation brought to him by the return of Titus. He also speaks of all that Titus saw and encountered in Corinth (2 Cor 7:2-16).
First he notes, though not in condemnation of the Corinthians, that he had wronged no one among them, harmed no one, and sought gain from no one. Contrary to all the slanders brought against him, he holds them all in his heart and boasts much of them.
Saint Paul continues: “I now overflow with joy,” that is, after the arrival of Titus, “although when we came into Macedonia from Troas, our flesh had no rest. Outside were attacks, within were fears” (2 Cor 7:2-7).
The Apostle had begun above, in chapter 2, to speak about his sufferings. “But as soon as he began, he was taken by the Spirit to the contemplation of the power and glory of the new covenant.”
Now he returns to the interrupted account. He speaks of how, in his great sorrow in Macedonia, he was gladdened by the arrival of Titus. Above all, he was gladdened by his good tidings about the Corinthians and the beneficial effect of his first epistle upon them.
Saint John Chrysostom says: “‘Outside were conflicts,’ that is, from unbelievers. ‘Inside were fears,’ that is, for the weak in faith, lest they be carried away into errors. This happened not only among the Corinthians, but also among others.
“When Titus returned, he carried us away with delight, when he told us so many pleasing things about you. Titus was comforted concerning you. By what was he comforted? By your virtue, by your correction.
“Therefore he adds: ‘reporting to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me.’ This is what comforted Titus. Do you see? He presents him too as greatly disposed toward the Corinthians.
“He regarded their good reputation as a consolation for himself. When he came, he boasted of it before Paul as his own good. And see with what warmth the Apostle expresses this: ‘your longing, your mourning, your zeal.’
“For they were indeed bound to weep and grieve that blessed Paul had been so angered with them and had been absent from them so long. He overflows with joy because he deeply moved them.”
It seems to me that this was said not only as consolation for what had gone before, but also to stir up still more those who had fulfilled what was required.
For I think that some were subject to the former reproofs and did not deserve such praise. Yet he does not separate them. On the contrary, he praises and reproves all together, leaving each one to choose what belongs to him.
In this way the reproaches became bearable, and the praises stirred them to greater zeal.
Sorrow and anxiety, as he said above in 2 Cor 2:12-13, began because Titus was so slow to return. He places the beginning of consolation in the arrival of Titus.
Before Titus reported anything, I was already comforted by his mere arrival. From the long waiting, Paul seemed almost to have despaired of ever seeing him again. Therefore he regards his arrival as a message from heaven.
It belongs to one who lives in God to refer every event, great or small, to God, since in truth it depends on Him. Therefore the Apostle confesses a great mercy of God also in this arrival of Titus.
Looking at it from the side of God’s providence, he says: God, Who comforts the humble, that is, those humbled and broken by grief and sorrows, comforted us by the arrival of Titus.
Yet, of course, it was not this arrival alone that so gladdened the Apostle that he at once forgot the whole burden lying on his soul. It was rather what Titus brought. Therefore he continues:
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 13 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS