2 Corinthians 7 Study Notes

7:9-10 From us means “because of us,” that is, because of Paul’s letter. The loss he refers to is probably the same loss as in 1Co 3:14-15. Paul’s letter kept them from experiencing such a loss.

7:11 Paul reminded the Corinthians of the specific occasion, reported to him by Titus, when godly grieving had finally broken in on their congregation.

7:12 On I wrote, see note at v. 8. Paul was more concerned about the relationship between the Co-rinthians and himself (as disciples to their spiritual father; see note at 11:2-3) than he was about the troublemaker.

The Greek noun lupÄ“ means pain, grief, or sorrow. The related verb lupeo means to cause pain or to grieve and occurs twenty-six times in the NT (15 of them in Paul’s writings; 12 in 2 Corinthians). In ancient Greek both lupÄ“ and lupeo could refer to pain experienced by the physical body, but most of the time the terms were used figuratively for mental and emotional anguish.

Four times in Paul’s writings lupÄ“ refers in a negative sense to his deep sorrow about spiritual matters, such as Israel’s unbelief (Rm 9:2), the pain he experienced because of the attitude of other Christians to his ministry (2Co 2:1,3), and the sorrow he felt at the near death of a fellow worker in the Lord (Php 2:27). Paul also used lupÄ“ to describe the grief caused by sin in the life of a Christian (2Co 2:7) and to explain that Christian giving should not be done reluctantly (lupÄ“) but by a cheerful heart (2Co 9:7). In 2Co 7:10 Paul contrasted the false grief of the world with the “godly grief” that leads to repentance, warning against the notion that any form of repentance is genuine.

7:13-16 Verses 5-12 describe the effect of the Corinthians’ change of heart toward Paul. These verses report the effect on Titus. Paul had predicted that the Corinthians would eventually repent, and Titus had been overjoyed when this turned out to be true.