Paul's Joy
2Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 4I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.
5For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever.
8Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— 9yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. 10Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Dig Deeper
One phrase that nearly everyone has heard when they were a child is the classic line, "this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me." These ominous words are usually uttered by a parent who is about to spank their child. When you’re a kid, you always think that this is something bogus that parents tell you to try to make you feel better. When you become a parent yourself, though, you finally begin to understand what that means. It means that you don’t like to put your children through the pain of discipline, but you will because you realize that it is far better for them than the consequences of continued, undisciplined behavior. A little pain caused by healthy discipline is worth it, if it produces a crop of repentance and righteousness. This is what Paul believes when it comes to the way that he has dealt with the Corinthians. He loves them deeply, and because he does, he has agonized over them and was even willing to cause them pain if it would produce true sorrow that fostered repentance.
The last passage served as a bit of a parenthetical aside to Paul’s primary train of thought of defending his ministry of apostelship. In 6:13, he exhorts the Corinthians to make room for them in his heart. He’s seems to have been speaking to the whole congregation, including those who have directly opposed him. He speaks to them hopefully, encouraging all of the Corinthians to act as those who are truly acting like his children. Now he seems to turn more directly to those in Corinth who have accepted him. In the last passage Paul made it clear that their acceptance or rejection of him was a matter of being a believer or an unbeliever. Here, Paul speaks to those who have already proven themselves to be among the believers by their repentance. This would mean that 6:11-13 was directed to the church as a whole, while this section is aimed at those who have opened their hearts. This, passage, then is a call on those who have repented to actually follow through on their repentance, completing their separation from the unbelievers and their return to unity with Paul. By addressing the repentant directly and moving on, Paul is, in effect, letting his opponents know that they are in very real danger of being on the outside looking in. What he is now doing in the letter, excluding them, will soon happen in real life if they don’t repent.
Paul is no longer addressing those who need to open their hearts (6:13), he is now addressing those who have repented and calling them to make room for him once again in their hearts. He reminds them that he has not wronged, corrupted, or exploited anyone. Yet, he is still walking carefully, not wanting to offend anyone. His defense of himself is not meant to sarcastically imply that he is condemning them, he sincerely loves them. He has great confidence in them (he almost sees relieved that he can truly have confidence in their actions; see 7:16), which leads to great pride because they are the evidence of the Spirit-driven character of his ministry (cf. 1:14; 3:3, 8; 7:14; 8:24; 9:2-3; 10:12-18). That fact that he can have pride in them once again leads to great encouragement for Paul. They are indeed a new creation which causes Paul to overflow with joy.
In verse 5, Paul begins to explain how God has specifically worked to turn his troubles into joy when it concerned the Corinthians. In doing so, Paul returns to the story he began in 2:12-13, showing that his suffering serves the dual purpose of bringing benefit to the Corinthians and his own happiness. Paul was in Macedonia, waiting anxiously for word from Titus as to how the Corinthians felt about him. Each passing day tempted him to worry more and more, but Paul quotes Isaiah 49:13 to remind them that truly his God is the one who comforts the downcast. For Paul the comfort came in the form of Titus finally arriving. In Paul’s mind, this wasn’t just a coincidence, it was the hand of God.
This leads us to an interesting question, though. Isn’t this the same Paul that wrote to be anxious about nothing (Phil. 4:6)? Is Paul clearly contradicting his own words? He is not, and the reason he is not can be very encouraging. For Paul, being anxious about nothing isn’t some detached esoteric state where one feels no anxiety and has no feeling. Being anxious about nothing means deeply feeling the realities of the situation and then, with huge struggle and effort, casting them upon the Lord. It means turning over the difficult parts of life and trusting that God is truly in control. This is no easy process, and knowing that it was extremely emotional and difficult for Paul can provide great comfort for us in a very real way.
What Paul found out from Titus was that what comforted Paul, actually caused great sorrow for the Corinthians that had responded to his painful letter. Paul is a true parent in his response. He didn’t want them to be sorrowful, but knows that if it produced repentance, then it was well worth it. The sorrow of a rebuke is well worth its fruit. Yet, Paul knows that that’s not exactly true. Not all sorrow is worth its fruit. Only sorrow as God intended will produce that kind of fruit.
Paul does not state directly what he thinks is the difference between Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, although we can assume that it has to do with motivation. Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow were demonstrated in living color by Peter and Judas following the death of Jesus. Peter responded by bitterly weeping and returning humbly to fellowship with the other disciples. He seemed to know that his sin was against God. Judas, however, could only think of himself and the pain that his sin caused for him. That led him to suicide, an attempt to relieve himself of that pain, rather than true repentance. That is not to imply that all worldly sorrow will lead to suicide, but sorrow that does not lead us to repentance will eventually lead to death. In a sense, no sorrow is better than worldly sorrow, because at least when someone remains hard and unsorrowful, they know that are not in the right. Worldly sorrow can give one a false sense of security, and Paul does not want the Corinthians to be lulled into their own spiritual deaths.
Devotional Thought
What is your reaction when sin is pointed out in your life? Do you feel sorry for yourself? Do you make excuses or get defensive? Or do you allow the sorrow to produce true repentance in your life? Resolve to not be defensive or demonstrate worldly sorrow, but to truly respond to sin in your life with genuine godly sorrow.
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