2 Corinthians 1:8–11

Paul wanted the Corinthians to know what evils he was enduring for the sake of their salvation. That way, they would not take it too badly if their own errors were admonished by people who were enduring such harsh treatment for their sake.

"For we would not, Brethren, have you ignorant concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia."

"These things we speak," saith he, "that ye may not be ignorant of what befell us; for we wish, yea have earnestly endeavored, that ye should know our affairs:" which is a very high proof of love. Of this even in the former Epistle he had before given notice, where he said, "For a great door and effectual is opened to me at Ephesus, and there are many adversaries." Putting them then in mind of this, and recounting how much he suffered, he saith, "I would not have you ignorant of our affliction which befell us in Asia." And in his Epistle to the Ephesians too he said the same. For having sent Tychicus to them, he gives this as the reason of his journey: whence he saith, "But that ye also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things; whom I have sent unto you for this very purpose, that ye may know our state, and that he may comfort your hearts." And in other Epistles also he doeth the very same. Nor is it superfluous, but even exceedingly necessary: both because of his exceeding affection for the disciples, and because of their continued trials; wherein the knowledge of each other's fortunes was a very great comfort; so that if these were calamitous, they might be prepared both to be energetic and to be safer against falling; or if these were good, they might rejoice with them.

He here, however, speaketh as well of being delivered from trials as of being assaulted by them, saying, "We were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power." Like a vessel sinking under some mighty burden. He may seem to have said, only one thing here "exceedingly" and "beyond our power:" it is, however, not one but two; for lest one should object, "What then? granting the peril were exceeding, yet it was not great to you;" he added, it both was great and surpassed our strength, yea, so surpassed it, "That we despaired even of life."

That is, we had no longer any expectation of living. What David calleth "the gates of hell, the pangs" and "the shadow of death," this he expresseth by saying, "We endured peril pregnant with certain death."

Paul recounts his own sufferings so that the Corinthians will realize that what they are going through is nothing by comparison. The disciple who grieves over his own hurt will be comforted when he sees that his master is suffering far more.

"I die daily," (says he); that is, undoubtedly, in the perils of the body, in which "he even fought with beasts at Ephesus," -even with those beasts which caused him such peril and trouble in Asia, to which he alludes in his second epistle to the same church of Corinth: "For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed above measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life." Now, if I mistake not, he enumerates all these particulars in order that in his unwillingness to have his conflicts in the flesh supposed to be useless, he may induce an unfaltering belief in the resurrection of the flesh.

I think that Paul is referring here to the riot at Ephesus which was provoked by Demetrius the silversmith..

Since he mentioned affliction indefinitely, he now explains what exactly the affliction was. Through this he also shows his love for them, for it is characteristic of love to reveal to others what has happened. At the same time he also presents an explanation for his delay. In Asia, he says, an affliction befell him, about which he also speaks in the first epistle: "for a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries" (1 Cor. 16:9). It would seem that he says one and the same thing when he uses the expressions "exceedingly" and "beyond our strength," but in reality they are not the same. He says the following: the trial was excessive, that is, great; then, since a trial, even being severe, can be courageously endured by one who has the strength to endure it, he says that it was not only great but also exceeded our strength, that is, both great and unbearable, such that we despaired even of life, that is, we no longer hoped even to remain alive. David calls such a state the chains of hell, the pangs of death, because they give birth to death, and the snare of death (Ps. 18:4–6).

Then when he says, For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, he wins their good will by mentioning certain specific things. And he does three things: first, he describes the persecution he suffered in Asia; secondly, the special comfort he received (v. 10); thirdly, the cause of the comfort.

He says first, therefore: it is good for you to know not only what we have said about our afflictions in general, but we do not want you to be ignorant, because it is profitable for you to know them, inasmuch as you are more patient because of our example: we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of the affliction we experienced; "Remember my affliction and my bitterness, the wormwood and the gall" (Lam. 3:19). This is the persecution mentioned in Acts (19:23ff), which was launched by a certain Asian silversmith, who incited the people against him. The Apostle describes it from three aspects: from the place, because it was in Asia; hence he says, in Asia, i.e., Ephesus, which is in Asia, where he should rather have been honored and comforted; from its bitterness, because it was an extreme suffering; hence he says, for we were so utterly crushed. Also it was beyond his strength, and so he says, unbearably.

But this seems to be contrary to what it says in 1 Corinthians (10:13): "God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength." I answer that to suffer beyond one's strength can be understood in two ways: first, above one's natural strength, which the Apostle means here, above which God sometimes permits his servants to be tempted; secondly, above the strength of grace, which the Apostle means in 1 Corinthians (10:13): "God is faithful." That the Apostle is speaking of natural strength is indicated by what he says next, we despaired of life itself. For it is evident that among all else, life is most desirable. Therefore when a persecution is so great that life itself becomes wearisome, it is obviously above the strength of our nature. And this is what he says, we despaired of life itself, as if to say, this persecution was so cruel that life itself became a burden to us: "I loathe my life" (Jb. 10:1). But against this James (1:2) says: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials." I answer that affliction can be considered in two ways: either in itself, and then it is wearisome, or in relation to faith, and then it is joyful, inasmuch as it is endured for God and with the hope of eternal life. We were not only weary of life, but we were certain of death; hence, he says, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, i.e., the certainty of death. As if to say: in my opinion I was about to die. Or another way, the sentence of death, i.e., reason itself would say to choose death because of the weariness of life.

Paul means that there was such a violent upsurge of evil against preachers of the faith that death was staring them in the face. But God does not refuse his protection to people in extreme danger, especially when they belong to him. He rescued them when they were in deep despair. Their affliction was so great that they would not have withstood it if God had not been with them.

Perfect renunciation, therefore, consists in not having an affection for this life and keeping before our minds the "answer of death, that we should not trust in ourselves." But a beginning is made by detaching oneself from all external goods: property, vainglory, life in society, useless desires, after the example of the Lord's holy disciples. James and John left their father Zebedee and the very boat upon which their whole livelihood depended. Matthew left his counting house and followed the Lord, not merely leaving behind the profits of his occupation but also paying no attention to the dangers which were sure to befall both himself and his family at the hands of the magistrates because he had left the tax accounts unfinished. To Paul, finally, the whole world was crucified, and he to the world.

Let no man therefore glory on account of pre-eminence in human thought. For it is written well in Jeremiah, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the mighty man glory in his might, and let not the rich man glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth that I am the Lord, that executeth mercy and judgment and righteousness upon the earth: for in these things is my delight, saith the Lord." "That we should trust not in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead," says the apostle, "who delivered us from so great a death, that our faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." "For the spiritual man judgeth all things, but he himself is judged of no man."

"But we had the answer of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead."

What is this, "the answer of death?" The vote, the judgment, the expectation. For so spake our affairs; our fortunes gave this answer "We shall surely die."

To be sure, this did not come to the proof, but only as far as to our anticipations, and stopped there: for the nature of our affairs did so declare, yet the power of God allowed not the declaration to take effect, but permitted it to happen only in our thought and in expectation: wherefore he saith, "We had the answer of death in ourselves," not in fact. And wherefore permitted He peril so great as to take away our hope and cause us to despair? "That we should not trust in ourselves," saith he, "but in God." These words Paul said, not that this was his own temper. Away with such a thought, but as attuning the rest by what he saith of himself, and in his great care to speak modestly. Whence also further on he saith, "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, (meaning his trials,) lest I should be exalted overmuch." And yet God doth not say that He permitted them for this, but for another reason. What other? That His strength might be the more displayed; "For," saith he, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for My power is made perfect in weakness." But, as I said, he no here forgetteth his own peculiar character, classing himself with those who fall short exceedingly and stand in need of much discipline and correction.

Death itself teaches us that all human help is inadequate and that our only hope is to rely on him who can raise us from the dead.

We had the sentence, the verdict, the answer that the circumstances gave, even though they had not yet uttered a voice, that is, before we even thought about it, the expectation of death presented itself and the verdict that the circumstances pronounced, but in reality this did not come to pass.

For what reason, he says, was this? So that we might learn not to place hope in ourselves, but only in God. However, Paul says this not because he himself now needed this instruction (for who believed more firmly that one must hope only in God?), but under the guise of speaking about himself he instructs others, and at the same time teaches humility.

He amplifies the reason for his affliction when he says, but that was to make us rely not on ourselves, i.e., that human pride should be repressed: "O Lord, my strength and my stronghold" (Jer. 16:19), and that we trust God in all things: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord" (Jer. 17:7). And therefore he says, but on God who raises the dead: "The Lord kills and brings to life" (1 Sam. 2:6).

"Who delivered us out of so great deaths."

He said not, "from so great dangers," at once showing the insupportable severity of the trials, and confirming the doctrine I have mentioned. For whereas the Resurrection was a thing future, he showeth that it happeneth every day: for when [God] lifteth up again a man who is despaired of and hath been brought to the very gates of Hades, He showeth none other thing than a resurrection, snatching out of the very jaws of death him that had fallen into them: whence in the case of those despaired of and then restored either out of grievous sickness or insupportable trials, it is an ordinary way of speaking to say, We have seen a resurrection of the dead in his case.

Again he reminds them of the preaching about the resurrection, of which he spoke so much in the first epistle, and which he confirms even more by the present circumstances; therefore he also added: "Who delivered us from so great a death." He did not say: from danger, but "from death." Although the resurrection is a future and unknown matter, he shows that it also happens daily. For when God delivers a person who has drawn near to the very gates of Hades, He shows nothing other than a resurrection; and that is why we are accustomed to say about such a condition of a person: we have seen a resurrection of the dead.

From this we learn that our life must constantly be spent in struggle; for when he says "will deliver," he foretells a storm of many temptations.

But because the Lord does not abandon those who trust in him, the Apostle mentions the comfort he received from the Lord, saying, he delivered us from so deadly a peril. In regard to this he does three things: first, he describes his present comfort against past evils; secondly, the comfort to come; thirdly, the cause of love. He says, therefore: We have been comforted by God, who delivered us in the past from so deadly a peril, and is delivering us in the present, because he does not stop delivering: "When you pass through the waters I will be with you" (Is. 43:2); on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again, adding in the future: "You who fear the Lord, hope for good things" (Sir. 2:9).

"And we have set our hope that He will also still deliver us; ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf."

Since the words, "that we should not trust in ourselves," might seem to be a common charge and an accusation that pointed to some amongst them; he softeneth again what he said, by calling their prayers a great protection and at the same time showing that [this] our life must be throughout a scene of conflict. For in those words, "And we have set our hope that He will also still deliver us," he predicts a future sleet of many trials: but still no where aught of being forsaken, but of succor again and support.

But what is this: "That for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many on our behalf?" He delivered us from those deaths," saith he, "ye also helping together by prayer;" that is, praying all of you for us. For "the gift bestowed upon us," that is, our being saved, He was pleased to grant to you all, in order that many persons might give Him thanks, because that many also received the boon.

And this he said, at once to stir them up to prayer for others, and to accustom them always to give thanks to God for whatever befalleth others, showing that He too willeth this exceedingly. For they that are careful to do both these for others, will much more for themselves show an example of both. And besides this, he both teacheth them humility and leadeth on to more fervent love. For if he who was so high above them owneth himself to have been saved by their prayers: and that to their prayers himself had been granted as a boon of God, think what their modesty and disposition ought to have been.

Since the words "that we should not trust in ourselves" could seem to some as a general accusation concerning them, he softens what was said and asks for their prayers as a great intercession. From this we also learn humility, because Paul needed the prayers of the Corinthians, and we recognize the power of prayer itself, for the prayer of the Church, offered as it should be, can do much, so that even Paul had need of it.

God delivered us, he says, and will deliver us through your prayers, "that for the gift bestowed upon us by the intercession of many," that is, so that for the grace that was in me through your prayers, many persons among you might give thanks. For my salvation, which came about through your prayers, He granted to all of you, so that many persons might give thanks to Him on our behalf. From this we also learn not only to pray for one another, but also to give thanks for one another. Notice how at the beginning he says that he was saved by the compassions of God, but now he attributes his salvation to their prayers, for with the mercies of God we must also unite our own mercies. And here Paul did not attribute all of the benefit to the Corinthians, lest he lead them to pride, but neither did he entirely exclude them from it, lest he make them negligent. God, he says, will deliver us "with the help of your prayer as well," that is, with your cooperation.

Your prayers give us cause for this hope; hence he says, you also must help us by prayer, which you make for us: "A brother helped is like a strong city" (Prov. 18:19); "I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf" (Rom. 15:30). These prayers are necessary, because God gives many gifts to one person due to the prayers of many. The reason is that God wishes to be thanked for the gifts he gives, and as a result many are bound to give thanks. This happens when, as a result of giving to one person because of the prayers of many, he puts all those at whose prayers he gave some good under an obligation to him. Consequently, not only the one who received the benefit, but those who prayed should give thanks to God. And this is what he says, so that many will give thanks. And he says, from many faces, either as to age or condition or the diversity of nations or customs. On our behalf for the blessing, i.e., for the gift of faith which we have, granted us in answer to many prayers: "Always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father" (Eph. 5:20). Or another way: "from the faces of many persons", i.e., the condition of persons. I say, "For the blessing granted to us", i.e., because they have the same gift, namely of faith or of charity; i.e., by means of the many persons who are in the faith of Christ, "thanks may be given on our behalf." Therefore, according to this explanation, by the many faces are understood the various virtues, so that the predominant virtue in a person is called his face; thus, patience is the face of Job, humility the face of David, and so on.