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 CORINTHIANS -
Final Warnings and Appeals.* 19Have you been thinking all along that we are defending* ourselves before you? In the sight of God we are speaking in Christ, and all for building you up, beloved. 20For I fear that* when I come I may nd you not such as I wish, and that you may nd me not as you wish; that there may be rivalry, jealousy, fury, sel shness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.k 21I fear that when I come again* my God may humiliate me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, immorality, and licentiousness they practiced.
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those who sinned earlier* and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again Iwill not be lenient, 3* since you are looking for proof of Christ speaking in me. He is not weak toward you but powerful in you. 4For indeed he was cruci ed out of weakness, but he lives by the power of God. So also we are weak in him, but toward you we shall live with him by the power of God.
1This third time I am coming* to you. “On the testimony of
a2
two or three witnesses a fact shall be established.” I warned
Final warnings
and greetings
Paul prepares the way for his planned visit by encouraging the Corinthians to take a close look at themselves to see if they are really being true to their faith in Christ. If they are, Paul will not have to criticize them when he arrives.
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The sins mentioned here are probably sins having to do with sexual immorality, worshiping idols, and the disrespectful behavior some of the followers displayed when they took part in the Lord’s Supper.
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k. [12:20] 1 Cor 1:11; 3:3.
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a. [13:1] Dt 19:15; Mt 18:16; Jn 8:17; Heb 10:28.
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*[12:19–13:10] This concludes the development begun in 2 Cor 10. In the chiastic arrangement of the material (see note on 2 Cor 10:1–13:10), this nal part corresponds to the opening; there are important similarities of content between the two sections as well.
* [12:19] This verse looks back at the previous chapters and calls them by their proper name, a defense, an apologia (cf. 1 Cor 9:3). Yet Paul insists on an important distinction: he has indeed been speaking for their bene t, but the ultimate judgment to which he submits is God’s (cf. 1 Cor 4:3–5). This verse also leads into the nal section, announcing two of its themes: judgment and building up.
* [12:20] I fear that. . .: earlier Paul expressed fear that the Corinthians were being victimized, exploited, seduced from right thinking by his opponents (2 Cor 11:3–4, 19–21). Here he alludes unexpectedly to moral disorders among the Corinthians themselves. The catalogue suggests the e ects of factions that have grown up around rival apostles.
* [12:21] Again: one can also translate, “I fear that when I come my God may again humiliate me.” Paul’s allusion to the humiliation and mourning that may await him recall the mood he described in 2 Cor 2:1–4, but there is no reference here to any individual such as there is in 2 Cor 2:5–11. The crisis of 2 Cor 2 has happily been resolved by integration of the o ender and repentance (2 Cor 7:4–16), whereas 2 Cor 12:21 is preoccupied with still unrepentant sinners. The sexual sins recall 1 Cor 5–7.
* [13:1] This third time I am coming: designation of the forthcoming visit as the “third” (cf. 2 Cor 12:14) may indicate that, in addition to his founding sojourn in Corinth, Paul had already made the rst of two visits mentioned as planned in 2 Cor 1:15, and the next visit will be the long-postponed second of these. If so, the materials in 2 Cor 1:12–2:13 plus 2 Cor 7:4–16 and 2 Cor 10–13 may date from the same period of time, presumably of some duration, between Paul’s second and third visit, though it is not clear that they are addressing the same crisis. The chronology is too unsure and the relations between sections of 2 Corinthians too unclear to yield any certainty. The hypothesis that 2 Cor 10–13 are themselves the “tearful letter” mentioned at 2 Cor 2:3–4 creates more problems than it solves.
* [13:2] I warned those who sinned earlier: mention of unrepentant sinners (2 Cor 12:21 and here) and of an oral admonition given them on an earlier visit complicates the picture at the very end of Paul’s development. It provides, in fact, a second explanation for the show of power that has been threatened from the beginning (2 Cor 10:1–6), but a di erent reason for it, quite unsuspected until now. It is not clear whether Paul is merely alluding to a dimension of the situation that he has not previously had occasion to mention, or whether some other community crisis, not directly connected with that behind 2 Cor 10–13, has in uenced the nal editing. I will not be lenient: contrast Paul’s hesitation and reluctance to in ict pain in 2 Cor 1:23 and 2 Cor 2:1–4. The next visit will bring the showdown.
* [13:3–4] Paul now gives another motive for severity when he comes, the charge of weakness leveled against him as an apostle. The motive echoes more closely the opening section (2 Cor 10:1–18) and the intervening development (especially 2 Cor 11:30–12:10). Proof of Christ speaking in me: the threat of 2 Cor 10:1–2 is reworded to recall Paul’s conformity with the pattern of Christ, his insertion into the interplay of death and life, weakness and power (cf. note on 2 Cor 12:10b).