2 Corinthians 1:8

2Co 1:8-11. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant — As if he had said, We speak thus concerning the sufferings wherewith God is pleased to exercise his people, because we have lately experienced them in a large measure: of our trouble which came to us in Asia — It is probable that the apostle here refers either to some opposition which he met with in his journey through Galatia and Phrygia, (Act 18:23,) of which no particular account has reached us; or to the tumult excited by Demetrius, as is related Act 19:23-41. “It may be said, perhaps, that it does not appear from the history that any danger threatened Paul’s life in the uproar at Ephesus, so imminent as that from which he here represents himself to have been delivered. This matter, it is true, is not stated by the historian in form; but the personal danger of the apostle we cannot doubt must have been extreme, when the whole city was filled with confusion; when the populace had seized his companions; when, in the distraction of his mind, he insisted on coming forth among them; when the Christians, who were about him, would not suffer him; when his friends, certain of the chief of Asia, sent to him, desiring that he would not adventure himself into the tumult; when, lastly, he was obliged to quit immediately the place and the country; and, when the tumult was ceased, to depart into Macedonia. Nothing could be more expressive of the circumstances in which the history describes him to have been at the time when the epistle purports to have been written,” than the verses under consideration. “It is the calm recollection of a mind emerged from the confusion of instant danger. It is that devotion and solemnity of thought which follows a recent deliverance. There is just enough of particularity in the passage to show that it is to be referred to the tumult at Ephesus.” — Paley. That we were pressed out of measure — The Corinthians knew before that he had been in trouble. He now declares the greatness and the fruit of it; above strength — Above the ordinary strength of a Christian, even of an apostle; insomuch that we despaired even of life — Ourselves, and were looked upon by others as dead men. We had the sentence of death in ourselves — That is, not only did others apprehend this concerning us, but we ourselves did indeed think that the appointed end of our life and ministry was come. That we should not trust in ourselves — That, for the future, we should put no confidence in our own wisdom or power to elude the designs of our enemies, nor merely regard human probabilities; but in the greatest and most extreme dangers should learn to repose a cheerful confidence in the power and providence of that God who, at his own pleasure, raiseth the dead by his almighty word; who delivered us from so great a death — As then threatened us; and doth still deliver — In the various dangers with which we are continually surrounded. In whom we trust that he will yet deliver us — From every evil, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom. Ye also — As well as other churches; helping by prayer for us — From this we learn, that the most eminent saints may be assisted and benefited by the prayers of persons much inferior to them in station and piety; which is a great encouragement to us to pray for one another, and a reason for our desiring each other’s prayers. That for the gift — Namely, my deliverance; bestowed by the means of many persons praying for it, thanks may be given by many on our behalf — Since nothing can be more reasonable than that mercies obtained by prayer should be acknowledged in praise.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

a. His affliction in Asia, and his purpose to visit them, 2Co_1:8-14.

8. Have you ignorant—St. Paul’s frequent phrase in introducing a new information. Rom_1:13; 1Co_10:1; 1Co_12:1; 1Th_4:13, and other passages.

Trouble—What this trouble, or rather, affliction, even to despair of life, was, is variously decided by commentators. Some identify it with his danger at Ephesus in Demetrius’s riot; but in that affair he was clearly not allowed to encounter as much danger as he wished. Some refer it to his fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus; but the literal reality of such an event is improbable. We identify it without doubt with the “thorn in the flesh” in 2Co_12:7, where see our note.

Alford, who identifies that “thorn” as sore eyes, nevertheless starts here on the right track: “The expression,” he says, “seems rather to regard a deadly sickness than a persecution.” St. Paul does not say that the trouble was at Ephesus, but in Asia. Assuming that his anxiety about the effect of his epistle on the Corinthians, joined with the excitements of the riot, affected his nervous system before leaving Ephesus, the paroxysm by which life was in despair doubtless took place at Troas.

Pressed out of measure— Literally, we were overwhelmingly, above our strength, borne down. He was prostrated by epilepsy, and his life was despaired of. To identifying this trouble as a sickness Meyer objects—1. That 2Co_1:5 speaks of sufferings of Christ; 2. 2Co_1:7 makes the Corinthians partakers; and, 3. Paul speaks in the plural, as if others shared. But, 1. Paul’s being overwhelmed with an almost fatal anxiety for the Corinthian Church was eminently identical with the sufferings of Christ. 2. The Corinthians being partakers can only mean that they had their share in the great mass of sufferings for Christ, not that they nearly died with him in Asia. 3. Paul’s use of the plural is counterbalanced by his use of the singular life, death, sentence of death—all of which certainly must be held as individual. 4. We make a fuller break between 2Co_1:7-8 than Meyer, which isolates Paul’s trouble from the sufferings of which the Corinthians were partakers.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

2Co_1:8.—No certainty as to the “affliction” referred to, whether some outward persecution at Ephesus (query at Ephesus at all?) known to his readers (query that of Rom_16:4; cf. 1Co_16:9) (“brethren”), or such acute distress about the state of things at Corinth as nearly killed him, and at any rate utterly broke down his health and threatened to interrupt his work. [How little the Acts tell of the life of Paul: cf. chaps. 4, 11, 2Co_7:5.] Notice, “mere weighed down exceedingly,” closely parallel to the original of 2Co_4:17.

2Co_1:9.—Little to choose between “answer” and “sentence.” [In A.V. and text and margin change places.] “We ask ourselves ‘Shall this end in life or in death?’ Our ‘answer,’ our ‘sentence’ upon ourselves, is ‘Death.’ ” “If we live, it will be a real resurrection by the power of God.” Cf. “I die daily” (1Co_15:31).

2Co_1:10.—Notice in, “will deliver,” variant reading for “doth deliver.” If this be accepted, then the latter clause only reiterates “will” with an expression of strong “hope.” The nature of the “deliverance” is as uncertain to us as is that of the peril. “From” is almost, “out of the hand of.”

2Co_1:11.—Cf. for the thought Php_1:19. See the Corinthians working with and for Paul. Gift.—I.e. the “deliverance” primarily, but not excluding the “comfort,” or the “trust” (2Co_1:9), which had sustained him until deliverance came; and all is “grace,” a real “charism.” Persons.—Perhaps too technical a translation of what literally means “faces”; as if we saw a whole company with uplifted eyes and hands, and upturned faces, interceding for Paul. Also 2Co_4:15; 2Co_9:12 are parallel in thought.

HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.—2Co_1:8-11

Death and Deliverance.

I. Unrecorded dangers.—

1. What a glimpse of the life of Paul is given here. The Acts gives no “Life of St. Paul.” It is a chapter in the history of the growing “kingdom of God”; the things which Jesus went on to do and to teach after He was taken up. [But this lays precarious emphasis on “began” (Act_1:1).] Paul, like Peter, is introduced, and dismissed, just when, and just so far as, the exigencies of that history demand. The whole story of the revelation and the historic evolution of the Kingdom is, in Old Testament and New Testament, written historically, and very largely biographically. But the men are secondary, the kingdom is first.

2. What adequate motive other than devotion to a Christ for the actuality of Whose life Paul had abundant evidence, would have carried him through so much? What he had surrendered is well known. What he gained in exchange he is now, and will eternally be, learning in the presence of his Christ. But the immediate return for the exchange was to be “in deaths oft,” as the climax of all other hardships. Yet through how much the love of Christ will carry a man! For wealth, or honour, or from fear of disgrace, men will do great things and will dare deaths. But to live a life of perpetual, “killing” hardship and peril, of obloquy and ignominy, of privation, of thankless and unthanked labour,—a “far more exceeding weight” of work and self-denial and shame and danger,—the only price with which to purchase such devotion is this: “The love of Christ constraineth me.”

3. The unrecorded martyrdoms, the unrecorded heroisms, of the Church are suggested. There are martyrdoms of daily life [“I die daily”] in the workshop, where one man has, with all wisdom and beauty of life, for years stood out a witness for, and a servant of, Christ; in the schoolroom and dormitory,—and there are no ingenuities of persecution and torture greater, in their proportion, than those devised by schoolboys and schoolgirls for a Christian confessor in their midst; at the table, where for years the husband has never broken a sullen silence towards his faithful wife except to complain, or sneer, or stab with keen words, because, and only because, she is a Christian; and the like. It is heroic, and has stirred the heart of the very persecutor, to see men, or even tender women, go to the stake with a song or a least a cheerful word, and stand quietly until the spirit escaped away, as in a chariot of fire, out of the midst of the flames which leaped up after it like disappointed hounds baulked of their prey. But the daily burden that presses “out of measure” until the most cheerful begin to say, “This will kill me”; the daily racking which tortures all that is finest and most sensitive in the nature; the daily danger which is faced in perilous mission-fields or in unhealthy city slums, as for Christ’s sake men and women go quietly forth morning after morning to the daily round,—this is carried, or borne, or done, without much comment, without indeed much notice. But One Heart knows it and rejoices in it. There is romance enough, heroism enough, martyrdom enough, in many quiet lives to kindle the enthusiasm of a Church or of a world, if it could only be known and read and written as He knows it, for Whom it is undertaken and faced and wrought.

4. He has a record where nothing is unwritten, nothing unrecorded; down to the last detail all is “entered up” in most perfect completeness; not a name which has borne anything, or been anything, for Him is omitted. So, too, there are—

II. Unrecorded deliverances.—What a story will some unknown saints have to tell in heaven, of their daily death indeed, but also of their daily deliverances! Not alone such foremost heroes as Paul, but many a hard-pressed, yet triumphant, “nobody,” in the knowledge and reckoning of even their Christian fellows, will have a story which is really one of perpetual miracle, a perpetual “resurrection.” Often, literally, “as good as dead” on all human lines of estimation, taking death into practical, near account every day, in the laying out of plans and the undertaking of work for Christ. Each new morning a new Easter morning, a life renewed as by a real raising up of God’s own hand. Many a burden, many a battle, many a danger, is never known outside the secrecy of the man’s own heart; and many a deliverance too. There must, moreover, be many deliverances unrecorded in even the privacy of the man’s own knowledge. In each day’s common life there must be for every man many occasions when danger, and even death, has been very really near, but, just because the deliverance has been so complete, he has passed through all in the happy, secure confidence of ignorance. Every ordinary journey has its peril. Every day’s duty offers at many points opportunity to “death.” Men could not bear to think of, or to know, through, and out of, how much they are daily being delivered.

III. Indirect blessing from these experiences.—

1. We may narrow 2Co_1:9 a little, and press its teaching with a particular application. The near prospect of death, if sanctified,

(1) Destroys all trust in ourselves. At that moment the vanity of all human endeavour and resistance to “fate,” is palpable. If the grace of God be yielded to, all trust in self for salvation may at that moment be destroyed. No lesson harder to learn, or more urgently necessary than this. Fundamental that the man should learn to put all reliance for salvation, not on anything within the circle of his own life and character, but wholly and entirely to make salvation depend upon Christ and His work. Yet not until face to face with eternity—and not always even then—is fully seen the unreliableness of everything within the man himself—everything he has been and has done, or has not been and has not done—as a resting-place for hope of acceptance before God. Thus it

(2) Disposes to trust in God. “ ‘To whom should we go?’ One moment more, and the mystery of the future will be a mystery no longer; where men have hitherto been inquiring, and speculating, and hoping or fearing, I shall know. One moment more and the world of which I do know something will have slipped from me, and I shall find myself in a world of which I know nothing. At home here, I shall be a stranger there, in a strange world. I am a sinner, and in one moment more, I shall find—what? What can I trust to for my ‘leap into the darkness’; what can assure me that I shall ‘light on my feet,’ and on sure ground of rest and peace? When I loose my hold, perforce, of a world of knowledge, and drop into a world which is entirely a matter of faith, what am I to trust to?” Nothing, except the promises of God in connection with the work of Christ. Invaluable and secure, or valueless and deceiving, will these in that supreme moment be. Trust in God, or nothing except a huge venture with an eternal risk. Happy if a man, thus shut up to trusting in his God in Christ does trust. But further there is

(3) The hope of resurrection. And this rests securely on the power and declared will of the “God who raises the dead.” “The (declarations of the) Scriptures and the power of God” were the two “heads” of an argument which Christ presented for the consideration of Sadducee doubters or unbelievers (Mat_22:9). An argumentum ad homines, of course, like the appeal of Paul to Agrippa. The Jew, such a Jew as even Agrippa, could hardly “think it i credible that God—God—should raise the dead” (Act_26:8).

2. The knowledge of others is to be enriched by our experience of deliverance.—“We would not have you ignorant,” etc. And so, too, God would not have them ignorant, and, for the sake of the glory of the God of the deliverance, and for the strengthening of their faith, would have His people communicate their experiences. A widely applicable principle. A reticence on such subjects, partly the result of temperament, and partly a tradition in many sections of the Christian Church, seals the lips of many, whose experience of the ways of God is most extensive, and would be most precious and helpful to other souls. A groundless and not very natural idea that such things are “too sacred to speak about,” coupled with a dislike, which has its honourable side, to be made the object of attention and to be the subject of one’s own talk, robs the Church of much testimony which would be its wealth. It is not a question of speaking of such deliverances before unsympathetic persons, “casting pearls before swine,” but of imparting them to those who are often in the like perils and trials, and need the same help and encouragements. To such hearers, often hungry for such help as testimony of deliverance would afford, and finding not their smallest difficulty in the thought that they are singular in their own experiences, it is a revelation and an inspiration to hear a fellow Christian—crucifying self, doing violence to habit and temperament, for the sake of glorifying the Deliverer and of helping souls—break the silence and tell his story of “death” and “deliverance.”

3. A wonderful unity of heart and effort is called out by Paul’s experiences (see fuller Homily on 2Co_1:11). The Pauls always owe much to the unknown pleaders in the Corinths; to those who can only “help together” by their pleading and “supplication.” How many deliverances did Paul owe to the fact that in every Church there were some who loved him, and who followed him wherever he went with “supplications.” How much of such a man’s success was by the Divine Eye—which alone can analyse the intricacies of such a problem—traceable to the many prayers put up for Paul by grateful hearts in his many Churches. “Success” is a very complex thing in itself, and in the causes which contribute to it. But not the least of these are the prayers of helpers who can only help by prayers. Paul and his work, with its accompaniments of danger, “death,” “deliverance,” rises up in a towering eminence in the view of the past of the Church’s history. But it rested upon a broad-spread, and in great part hidden, base, not the least solid stratum of which was laid in the prayers of his many helpers, “fellow-wrestlers,” with each other and with him, in their prayers for him (Rom_15:30).

SEPARATE HOMILIES

2Co_1:10. The God of Deliverance.—Psa_68:28, “He that is our God is the God of Salvation.” An old “note” of the God of the Bible; ever true.

I. Our lesson in grammar in God’s school.—

1. Can our heart conjugate the verb “deliver”? Yes. Present: “Doth deliver” [But query the reading?] Past: “Hath delivered.” Future tense: “Will deliver.” “God” in every case the “subject.” Whatever lesson we are slow to learn, we have had occasion enough to know this excellently well. He has given us plenty of practice. Yet the future tense does not at all times come very readily to our lips; we stammer at “Will deliver.” Our slow heart easily forgets “Hath delivered.” In the story of the goodness of our life, we find it hard to pick out in the sentence, in the incidents of to-day, the present tense with its nominative: “God doth deliver.” We will ask, as not the least mercy of His hand, a heart quick to pick Him out in the story, and to see His “deliverance” in every day’s common, commonplace, safety and help.

2. The difficulty is not all of our own heart’s creating. The very completeness of the “deliverance” in part creates it. We are brought through in such complete safety that we pass through in happy security, entirely ignorant that danger or need of help has been so near and so great. The monotonously ordinary security of a common day is sometimes—if only we saw it as He does who accomplishes it—a most marvellous “deliverance.” [Very often, indeed, He spreads “a table” for His people “in the presence of” their “enemies” (Psa_23:5). He holds these back—in their impotent malice—while His guests eat His banquet of plentiful “goodness and mercy.” We see them, but banquet in peace, crying, “See how He doth deliver.”]

3. The Present is so closely linked with Past and Future that the present deliverance cannot be considered alone. It is rooted in the mercy of the past; it projects itself, inserts itself, [mortises itself,] into that of the future. The mercy of to-day—“doth deliver”—is only the newest, latest link of a chain of deliverances which reaches back to my earliest need, and will stretch onward to the latest moment of my life’s necessity. No mercy stands by itself; no deliverance is an isolated piece of goodness. No matter where the musing heart takes hold of the mercies of life, at whatever point it locates the Present Tense, it is led on backward, forward, by links of the closest association. Psa_59:10 gets quoted with more than a verbal inaccuracy. It is false to the thought to say, “The God of my mercies.” The Psalmist says, and feels, more justly, “of my mercy.” Each incident of mercy is so closely linked with what precedes and follows, they follow so closely one upon another, that, in the review, they coalesce into one long “mercy” (Psa_40:5). Indeed, to speak humanly, in the grammar of God’s thought there is no present, past, future. We use the words; we distinguish between the times. The deliverances emerge and present themselves to us, in order and temporal succession. But they are by no means separate and independent “deliverances.” They are incidents in one continuous deliverance. It is only human feeling which says, “Awake to help me!” (Psa_59:4). Our God has no need to arouse Himself for each new emergency, to consider how to make at the moment some new provision for the new demand. [As in Creation, so in Grace,—and the two are one Work,—the “Father worketh hitherto” (Joh_5:17); He never takes His hand from the thing He is creating, from the life He is regulating and guiding. There are no briefest pauses in His attention and interest. There is no intermission, even for an instant, in His ceaselessly operative activity to “deliver.”] Must not be so overpressed as to become fatalism, with its inevitable, unalterable, predetermined order of incidents and persons, in a Christian man’s life and course. But he should thankfully remember that the daily new “deliverances” (in the widest sense) are parts of a lifelong Deliverance, details in the working out of “a Purpose” “to bring His many sons unto glory” (Rom_8:28; Heb_2:10). [Should be remembered also how central—as in the chapter, Romans 8., so in thought and fact—is the word “good” in Rom_8:28. The mere temporal “deliverance,” from perplexity, or persecution, or death, is not the main thing in the mind of the God of our “Deliverance.” These, indeed, are not always granted. [Sometimes the real “deliverance” is effected rather by His shutting up against us paths, doors, which we begged to be allowed to enter.] Such providential deliverances are given or withheld, according as will best subserve the “good,” the definition of which is the “conforming” each son of His family of adopted ones “to the image of the Son, the Firstborn amongst many brethren.” Such a deliverance from danger as Paul is thinking of, is not an unworthy thing for God to consult for, but its real purpose falls in with His larger plan of gracious working, in Paul and all whom his life may affect and influence, the goal of which is the perfected holiness of His people.] Present, past, future, are our human expression; the fact—of our deliverance, as of His purpose and love, Who is “I AM”—is a perpetually extended present of grace and power.

II. Paul’s confidence rests upon the God who delivers.—One lifelong deliverance; because One Mind, One Heart, One God, in all the deliverances of life. For this reason Paul counts upon deliverance; he counts upon Him! The future is as certain as the past, or present, because He may as certainly be reckoned with. “He cannot deny Himself”—i.e. He cannot at any point be unfaithful to His pledged word in the past, to His proved character in the past, to the precedents He has set in the past. His past acts and deliverances are “words” from His heart; He has declared in them what manner of God He is, and will be. He cannot turn His back upon the Self of past days, or upon His past principles of action. He can do no other, and can be no other, than His record in the past. Present, Past, Future, therefore, proceed in orderly, secure development. He can so guide and deliver His people to-day that the present shall fit harmoniously on to the past, and prepare the way for the future, with perfect sequence and adaptation; and the future deliverance is a certainty. [Has stamped His own unity upon His work in creation. This truth in modern theories of “development” is that no new created thing is isolated, a mere new beginning; it is always in close relation to the past; it is the next stage in the unfolding of an Idea upon which the Creator is ceaselessly at work; however modified, the lines of the preceding forms are in it; in its turn it preludes, and suggests, the coming forms. So His own unity is stamped upon the working of His delivering providence. Deliverance follows upon, grows out of, deliverance; deliverance preludes, and leads up to, deliverance. The heart that knows God finds the analogy run very closely; and the argument in it is: “One God; the God of my mercy.”] [Or, with another natural analogy. Give the astronomer six weeks, six months, six years—the longer the better—to make and collate and study observations of a new planet; and he will soon tell you where it may be looked for six years, or sixty, or six hundred years hence. He has “found the law” of its orbit and its motion. Paul records: “Hath delivered,” and “doth deliver.” Not two observations, but many a thousand, are embodied in that; he has “found the law” of the providence of his God. He says “Will deliver” with all confidence. He knows where to look for and to find his God.]

I. “We’ll praise Him for all that is past,

II. We’ll trust Him for all that’s to come.”

—Hymn by J. Hart.

HOMILETIC SUGGESTIONS

2Co_1:11. Two Features in the Life of Citizens of the Kingdom of God.

I. “Circulation” in the life of the kingdom of God.—The cycle of life begins in, and returns to, prayer. “Prayer” first wins a “Gift”; then, the “Gift” won, and exhibited in its blessed fruits, calls out “Praise.” Then the-grateful, adoring Church begins the round again: making known its fresh requests once more; again getting the new answer; and then again acknowledging the mercy with new Praise. [Observe how the objective efficacy of Prayer is here assumed; prayer which is petition, and not merely adoration, contemplation, communion, with God, etc. Prayer—the consentaneous prayer of many persons—prevails, not only to their own blessing, but to secure for another person, Paul, not merely a spiritual grace, but an actual deliverance from very extreme peril.]

II. Union in the life of the kingdom.—The gift is bestowed in answer to the prayers of many; the thanks are given by many; many then help together in praying for the new deliverance.

1. There is solitary prayer which is of the mightiest; there is an offering of thanksgiving, in the holy privacy of the sanctuary within the heart, which is grateful exceedingly to God, but is a holy secret between the heart and Himself. But united prayer has a power all its own; united thanksgiving has a beauty and value all its own. [Cf. the strong figure in Rom_15:30 : “that ye strive [wrestle, agonise] together with me in your prayers for me.” As though, not one “wrestling Jacob,” but a Church every member of which is a “wrestling Jacob,” had all taken hold of, and were hanging upon, God, with “We will not let Thee go.”]

2. No Church is strong unless its individual members are strong, for prayer and for work. It is in secret prayer that they learn to pray. But the Church, meeting as such, for prayer and for thanksgiving, has a mighty power. United waiting upon God brought Pentecost; united waiting upon God had secured “deliverance” for Paul. There is a principle in the Church prayer meeting; a special promise belongs to it (Mat_18:19).

3. The missionary agents of the Churches, in difficulty and peril, should be remembered in Church prayer, and thanksgiving rendered for their “gift” and mercy. [

4. All the efficacy of Sympathy is utilised by such united prayer and thanksgiving; the Church does well to have its thanksgiving meetings, as well as its prayer meetings; sluggish hearts are stirred, flagging interest in one is aroused by zeal in another; beginners learn to pray, and learn to discover matter for praise, as they listen to the older and more experienced members.] [Further, remember that this “agreeing to ask” is very much more than that a given number of persons, all convinced that some certain object of desire is laudable or needful, concur in making request for the same thing. It goes deeper; it is a union of conviction and desire and petition, born of the common presence in each of them of One and the Same Spirit of prayer. They are one in the Body and in the Head. It is the one Mind, Life, Heart, of the Body breathing out its desire through each of the company who “agree to ask.” (“Prayer in the Holy Ghost,” Jud_1:20.)]

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. Paul’s Experience and Explanations.

CHAPTER 1:8-24

1. His Experience. (2Co 1:8-14)

2. His Explanations. (2Co 1:15-24)

The Apostle speaks, first of all, of the trouble he had when he was pressed out of measure (or “weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power”), in so much that he despaired of his life. What experience did he mean? The question cannot be positively answered. It may have been the trouble in Ephesus (Act 19:1-41) to which he refers in 1Co 15:32, “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts in Ephesus .” Others think that it was some severe attack of sickness or a powerful assault upon his life from some other source. Whatever it was, he had been in such a peril that he almost lost his life.

“But we had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead: who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us.”

It was all permitted to come upon him for his own good. He learned by it his own utter helplessness; it destroyed in him all self-reliance; he had to cast himself upon God, whose power and faithfulness as a deliverer were blessedly manifested in this experience. It showed him his nothingness and God’s power in deliverance. Every true believer will welcome any affliction or tribulation which produces such precious results. In the tenth verse, he groups together the fact of God’s deliverance past, present and future. “Who delivered us from so great a death.” This undoubtedly refers to the danger he was exposed to and out of which He had been delivered, but it may also be applied in a more general way. We are as believers delivered from so great a death, that is, eternal death. Then there is a present deliverance “who doth deliver.” These are the trials and testings in the way, in which the believer learns anew that He is the God of our salvation.

“Salvation through a work wrought already for eternity is the daily lesson of a growing faith. Sickness, privation and trouble Of any kind are, with outward persecution, permitted as occasions of sustaining and delivering love. Grace knows how to deliver even from those snares in which our own folly or carelessness may have entangled our feet.” (Pridham.)

And the Apostle expressed his confidence in a future deliverance. He who has delivered His people, saved them by Grace, who constantly delivers and keeps, will do so in the future till the final great deliverance comes and all His redeemed people will be gathered home.

But while the Apostle trusted in God for all this, as all true believers do, he also recognized the value of the prayers of others. God’s children can be fellow-helpers in prayer for the servants of God “helping together by prayer for us.” Prayer is therefore a very important part of true ministry in the body of Christ. And what had been bestowed upon him, would lead many to praise God in giving thanks on his behalf. He was rejoicing in the testimony of his own conscience, that in holiness (not “simplicity” as in the authorized version) and sincerity before God he had acted in the world and more abundantly towards them. (The word rejoicing is “glorying” or “boasting.” As mentioned in the introduction this word is found thirty-one times in this epistle.) Only partly had they recognized him. He mentions “the day of our Lord Jesus.” In that day the Corinthian saints would be the Apostle’s glorying, and the Apostle was their glorying. The day of the Lord Jesus is not the Old Testament day of God. The day of the Lord will bring the visible manifestation of the Lord in great power and glory. Judgment for this earth follows as well as mercy in bringing righteousness, peace and the Kingdom. The day of the lord Jesus is for the Saints of God and is celebrated not on earth but in glory. Often the Apostle refers to that blessed coming day when the Saints shall be gathered home. As a doctrine it is impressed continually on the memory of the church, while as a moral power it is a constant endeavor of the Spirit to bring it to bear directly on the daily walk of the believer, both as a regulator of conscience, an argument of patience, and an efficient stimulant of all true spiritual affection (Rom 13:12-13; 1Pe 1:7; 1Jn 3:1-3).

His explanations follow. He intended to come to them long before this. His plan was to pass by them into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia unto them, so that they might bring him on his way toward Judea. He had not done so. They might accuse him therefore of having failed. The word “lightness” in 2Co 1:17 means fickleness. Was he fickle-minded? Was it merely the lightness and fickleness, a changing yea, yea, followed by nay, nay? He had stayed away from Corinth for other reasons; it was to spare them that he did not go there. Therefore, it was not fickleness on his part at all.

He did not purpose according to the flesh. What he earnestly desired was from love for them, and all his plans were under the guidance of the Lord. “But as God is true, our word toward you is not yea and nay. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him is yea. For whatever may be the promises of God, in Him is the yea, wherefore also through Him is the amen, unto the glory of God through us.” They had been suspicious of him and his motives, and now after having denied the false charge of being fickle-minded he reminds them of his preaching among them which was not yea and nay. He turns from the accusations against him, to what he had preached. The positive doctrines of the Gospel had molded his character and controlled all his motives. He and his companions, Silvanus and Timotheus, had preached among them the Son of God, Jesus Christ, and the blessed truths of salvation and redemption which center in Him and flow forth from His Person. And the preaching of the Son of God has no doubt and uncertainty in it; it is the declaration of positive and final Truth. Men doubt and are fickle-minded about the Person of Christ and the Gospel in our days, but God’s Word speaks in positive terms, which do not permit any uncertainty whatever. It is a wonderfully deep statement that all the promises of God, whatever they may be, are in Christ--in Him is the yea and through Him the amen likewise. All promises are made to Christ and are in Him and those who trust in Christ share them in Him. All came by Him, all is in Him, all will be accomplished through Him. “Whatever promises there had been on God’s part, the yea was in Him, and the amen in Him. God has established--deposited, so to speak--the fulfillment of all His promises in the Person of Christ. Life, glory, righteousness, pardon, the gift of the Spirit, all is in Him: it is in Him that all is true--yea and amen. We cannot have the effect of any promise whatsoever apart from Him. But this is not all: we, believers, are the objects of these counsels of God. They are to the glory of God by us.”(Synopsis.)

But how can we participate in it, if all is “in Christ?” Here is the blessed answer. God Himself establishes the believer in Christ, in whom all the promises subsist, so that the true Christian securely possesses in Him all that is promised. We have it all through God in Christ and can enjoy it in Him. And furthermore, God hath anointed us. We possess in Christ the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are sealed by that Spirit; God has put His seal upon us. And finally the Spirit also is in us the earnest of that which we shall possess with Christ in the coming day of His glory. “In whom ye also, after that Ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also believing, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of an inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory” (Eph 1:13-14).

Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Paul’s recent peril:

v. 8. For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, in so much that we despaired even of life;

v. 9. but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead;

v. 10. who delivered us from so great a death and doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet deliver us;

v. 11. ye also helping together by prayer for us that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks may be given by many on our behalf.

Paul here recounts a bit of personal history, concerning which he does not want the Corinthian Christians to remain in ignorance; he frankly shares his troubles with them, assured in advance of their prayerful sympathy. He had withstood the many adversaries in Ephesus, 1Co 16:9, he had escaped the enmity of the Jews, Act 19:9. But the storm broke in the insurrection raised against him by Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen, Act 19:23. It was an affliction without parallel in his history: Beyond measure, beyond power we were weighed down, oppressed, distressed. The persecution was an exceedingly great load of affliction, and it went beyond all power of human endurance, it caused the great hero in faith to despair even of life, he saw no way by which his life could be saved.

He now repeats the same idea in positive form: Not only saw we no method by which our lives could be saved, but we ourselves had the sentence of death in ourselves; Paul had the conviction that the time had come when he must die, and an inglorious death at that: there seemed to be no way of escape. The language is so unusual in the case of Paul that many commentators have insisted that a most extraordinary peril must have befallen him. But his case was merely the normal experience of the average Christian, in whose life periods of heroic faith and confidence alternate with times of deepest distress, as we see in the Psalms. "For Paul had also experienced manifold perils and troubles, had also been saved from them in various ways; sometimes he shows himself to have a great and mighty courage that he fears nothing. There his heart is full of joy and he would have all to rejoice and be comforted with him. But on the other hand, he says 2Co 1:8-9: We were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life; also: We had the sentence of death in ourselves. But that was done, he says, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead. What is that, dear Paul? Why art thou not happy and full of comfort? Why dost thou not cheer the others? Shall Paul, that great apostle, be humbled to that extent that he would rather die than live? He that was just full of the Holy Spirit now appears to be entirely without spirit."

The object of God in permitting such peril and distress to befall the apostle is clearly stated: That we should not place our trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. The gravity of Paul’s situation in the peril at Ephesus was so great as to impress upon him the utter uselessness of putting his trust anywhere but in God, who alone has power over life and death. Since He has the power to raise from the dead, to bring the dead back to life, much sooner is He able to close the gates of death before the dying. To Him, therefore, Paul also gives all honor in this case: Who delivered us out of so great a death, and does deliver, toward whom we have set our hope that he will still deliver. The picture drawn by Paul is that of a powerful tearing away from a danger to which he had been exposed, an emergence from its teeth or jaws through the almighty power of the Lord. This confidence he has, in this direction his trusting hope is directed. At the same time he trusts in the intercessions of the Corinthian brethren: While you also help together on our behalf by your supplication. Their urgent pleading would prove a great help for him in his position at all times; he would receive strength for his work. In the midst of afflictions the communion of prayer prospers, and for that reason the very sufferings of Paul were a cause of benefit to the brethren: That from many persons, literally, faces (upturned to God in a prayer of thanksgiving), for the gift bestowed upon us, thanks may be given through many on our behalf. The gift of grace, namely, the deliverance of the apostle, the preservation of his life, caused the sincere thanksgiving of the many people that had united in supplication for his life, this result agreeing exactly with the object of the Lord, for by His hearing of prayer God intends to provoke the grateful praises of the believers.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

HIS VERDICT IN FAVOR OF DEATH

2Co 1:8-11.

8. “For we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burthened above our power, so that we despaired even of life.

9. “But we had the answer of death in ourselves, in order that we may not have confidence in ourselves, but in God, who delivered us from so great a death and will deliver.” Exegetes are much at sea in reference to what this affliction was, as it is not specified. The presumption is that it was an exceedingly severe spell of sickness, which utterly prostrated and brought him to the very verge of death, when the last vestige of hope took its flight and God said to him, “Will you die or will you live?” He decided, “I will die,” thus taking it as his choice to depart from labor to rest. The English does not clearly bring out this fact, which is the great, salient point in the matter. It is believed that this is the terrible ordeal alluded to (1Co 15:32), where he says that he fought with the wild beasts at Ephesus, symbolizing the awful disease that preyed on him by the figure of a wild beast, as the law did not allow them to cast a Roman citizen to a wild beast.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 2

FAITH BORN OF DESPAIR.- 2Co_1:8-14 (R.V)

PAUL seems to have felt that the thanksgiving with which he opens this letter to the Corinthians was so peculiar as to require explanation. It was not his way to burst upon his readers thus with his private experiences either of joy or sorrow; and though he had good reason for what he did-in that abundance of the heart out of which the mouth speaks, in his desire to conciliate the good-will of the Corinthians for a much-tried man, and in his faith in the real communion of the saints-he instinctively stops here a moment to vindicate what he has done. He does not wish them to be ignorant of an experience which has been so much to him, and ought to have the liveliest interest for them.

Evidently they knew that he had been in trouble, but they had no sufficient idea of the extremity to which he had been reduced. We were weighed down, he writes, in excess, beyond our power; the trial that came upon us was one not measured to mans strength. We despaired even of life. Nay, we have had the answer of death in ourselves. When we looked about us, when we faced our circumstances, and asked ourselves whether death or life was to be the end of this, we could only answer, Death. We were like men under sentence; it was only a question of a little sooner or a little later, when the fatal stroke should fall.

The Apostle, who has a divine gift for interpreting experience and reading its lessons, tells us why he and his friends had to pass such a terrible time. It was that they might trust, not in themselves, but in God who raises the dead. It is natural, he implies, for us to trust in ourselves. It is so natural, and so confirmed by the habits of a lifetime, that no ordinary difficulties or perplexities avail to break us of it. It takes all God can do to root up our self-confidence. He must reduce us to despair; lie must bring us to such an extremity that the one voice we have in our hearts, the one voice that cries to us wherever we look round for help, is Death, death, death. It is out of this despair that the superhuman hope is born. It is out of this abject helplessness that the soul learns to look up with new trust to God.

It is a melancholy reflection upon human nature that we have, as the Apostle expresses it elsewhere, to be "shut up" to all the mercies of God. If we could evade them, notwithstanding their freeness and their worth, we would. How do most of us attain to any faith in Providence? Is it not by proving, through numberless experiments, that it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps? Is it not by coming, again and again, to the limit of our resources, and being compelled to feel that unless there is a wisdom and a love at work on our behalf, immeasurably wiser and more benignant than our own, life is a moral chaos? How, above all, do we come to any faith in redemption? to any abiding trust in Jesus Christ as the Savior of our souls? Is it not by this same way of despair? Is it not by the profound consciousness that in ourselves there is no answer to the question, How shall man be just with God? and that the answer must be sought in Him? Is it not by failure, by defeat, by deep disappointments, by ominous forebodings hardening into the awful certainty that we cannot with our own resources make ourselves good men-is it not by experiences like these that we are led to the Cross? This principle has many other illustrations in human life, and every one of them is something to our discredit. They all mean that only desperation opens our eyes to Gods love. We do not heartily own Him as the author of life and health, unless He has raised us from sickness after the doctor had given us up. We do not acknowledge His paternal guidance of our life, unless in some sudden peril, or some impending disaster, He provides an unexpected deliverance. We do not confess that salvation is of the Lord, till our very soul has been convinced that in it there dwells no good thing. Happy are those who are taught, even by despair, to set their hope in God; and who, when they learn this lesson once, learn it, like St. Paul, once for all (see note on εσχηκαμεν above). Faith and hope like those which burn through this Epistle were well worth purchasing, even at such a price; they were blessings so valuable that the love of God did not shrink from reducing Paul to despair that he might be compelled to grasp them. Let us believe when such trials come into our lives-when we are weighed down exceedingly, beyond our strength, and are in darkness without light, in a valley of the shadow of death with no outlet-that God is not dealing with us cruelly or at random, but shutting us up to an experience of His love which we have hitherto declined. "After two days will He revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live before Him."

The Apostle describes the God on whom he learned to hope as "God who raises the dead." He himself had been as good as dead, and his deliverance was as good as a resurrection. The phrase, however, seems to be the Apostles equivalent for omnipotence: when he thinks of the utmost that God can do, he expresses it thus. Sometimes the application of it is merely physical; {e.g., Rom_4:17} sometimes it is spiritual as well. Thus in Eph_1:19 ff. the possibilities of the Christian life are measured by this-that that power is at work in believers with which God wrought in Christ when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places. Is not that power sufficient to do for the weakest and most desperate of men far more than all he needs? Yet it is his need, somehow, when brought home to him in despair, that opens his eyes to this omnipotent saving power.

The text of the words in which Paul tells of his deliverance can hardly be said to be quite certain, but the general meaning is plain. God delivered him from the awful death which was impending over him; he had his hope now firmly set on Him; he was sure that He would deliver him in the future also. What the danger had been, which had made so powerful an impression on this hardy soul, we cannot now tell. It must have been something which happened after the First Epistle was written, and therefore was not the fighting with wild beasts at Ephesus, whatever that may have been. {1Co_15:32} It may have been a serious bodily illness, which had brought him to deaths door, and left him so weak, that still, at every step, he felt it was Gods mercy that was holding him up. It may have been a plot to make away with him on the part of the many adversaries mentioned in the First Epistle {1Co_16:9} -a plot which had failed, as it were, by a miracle, but the malignity of which still dogged his steps, and was only warded off by the constant presence of God. Both these suggestions require, and would satisfy, the reading, "who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver." If, however, we take the reading of the R.V-"who delivered us from so great a death, and will deliver; on whom we have set our hope that He will also still deliver us"-the existence of the danger, at the moment at which Paul writes, is not necessarily involved; and the danger itself may have been more of what we might call an accidental character. The imminent peril of drowning referred 2Co_11:25 would meet the case; and the confidence expressed by Paul with such emphatic reference to the future will not seem without motive when we consider that he had several sea voyages in prospect-as those from Corinth to Syria, from Syria to Rome, and probably from Rome to Spain. So Hofmann interprets the whole passage: but whether the interpretation be good or bad, it is elsewhere than in its accidental circumstances that the interest of the transaction lies for the writer and for us. To Paul it was not merely a historical but a spiritual experience; not an incident without meaning, but a divinely ordered discipline; and it is thus that we must learn to read our own lives if the purpose of God is to be wrought out in them.

Notice in this connection, in the eleventh verse, how simply Paul assumes the spiritual participation of the Corinthians in his fortunes. It is God indeed who delivers him, but the deliverance is wrought while they, as well as other Churches, co-operate in supplication on his behalf. In the strained relations existing between himself and the Corinthians, the assumption here made so graciously probably did them more than justice; if there were unsympathetic souls among them, they must have felt in it a delicate rebuke. What follows-"that, for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf" (R.V)-simple and intelligible as it looks in English, is one of the passages which justify M. Sabatiers remark that Paul is difficult to understand and impossible to translate. The Revisers seem to have construed το εις ημας χαρισμα δια πολλων together, as if it had been το δια π. ε. η. χαρισμα, the meaning being that the favor bestowed on Paul in his deliverance from this peril had been bestowed at the intercession of many. Others get virtually the same meaning by construing το εις ημας χαρισμα with εκ πολλων προσωπων: the inversion is supposed to emphasize these last words; and as it was, on this view, prayer on the part of many persons that procured his deliverance, Paul is anxious that the deliverance itself should be acknowledged by the thanksgiving of many. It cannot be denied that both these renderings are grammatically violent, and it seems to me preferable to keep το εις ημας χαρισμα by itself, even though εκ πολλων προσωπων and δια πολλων should then reduplicate the same idea with only a slight variation. We should then render: "in order that, on the part of many persons, the favor shown to us may be gratefully acknowledged by many on our behalf." The pleonasm thus resulting strikes one rather as characteristic of St. Pauls mood in such passages, than as a thing open to objection. But grammar apart, what really has to be emphasized here is again the communion of the saints. All the Churches pray for St. Paul-at least he takes it for granted that they do; and when he is rescued from danger, his own thanksgiving is multiplied a thousandfold by the thanksgivings of others on his behalf. This is the ideal of an evangelists life; in all its incidents and emergencies, in all its perils and salvations, it ought to float in an atmosphere of prayer. Every interposition of God on the missionarys behalf is then recognized by him as a gift of grace (χαρισμα)-not, be it understood, a private favor, but a blessing and a power capacitating him for further service to the Church. Those who have lived through his straits and his triumphs with him in their prayers know how true that is.

At this point (2Co_1:12) the key in which Paul writes begins to change. We are conscious of a slight discord the instant he speaks about the testimony of his conscience. Yet the transition is as unforced as any such transition can be. I may well take for granted, seems to be the thought in his mind, that you pray for me; I may well ask you to unite with me in thanks to God for my deliverance; for if there is one thing I am sure of, and proud of, it is that I have been a loyal minister of God in the world, and especially to you. Fleshly wisdom has not been my guide. I have used no worldly policy; I have sought no selfish ends. In a holiness and sincerity which God bestows, in an element of crystal transparency, I have led my apostolic life. The world has never convicted me of anything dark or underhand; and in all the world none know better than you, among whom I lived longer than elsewhere, working with my hands, and preaching the Gospel as freely as God offers it, that I have walked in the light as He is in the light.

This general defense, which is not without its note of defiance, becomes defined in verse 13 {2Co_1:13}. Plainly charges of insincerity had been made against Paul, particularly affecting his correspondence, and it is to these he addresses himself. It is not easy to be outspoken and conciliatory in the same sentence, to show your indignation to the man who charges you with double-dealing, and at the same time take him to your heart; and the Apostles effort to do all these things at once has proved embarrassing to himself, and more than embarrassing to his interpreters. He begins, indeed, lucidly enough. "We write nothing else to you than what you read." He does not mean that he had no correspondence with members of the Church except in his public epistles; but that in these public epistles his meaning was obvious and on the surface. His style was not, as some had hinted, obscure, tortuous, elaborately ambiguous, full of loopholes; he wrote like a plain man to plain men; he said what he meant, and meant what he said. Then he- qualifies this slightly. "We write nothing to you but what you read-or in point of fact acknowledge," even apart from our writing. This seems to me the simplest interpretation of the words ἣ καὶ ἐπιγινώσκετε; and the simplest construction is then that of Hofmann, who puts a colon at επιγινωσκετε, and with ελπιζω δε begins what is virtually a separate sentence. "And I hope that to the end ye will acknowledge, as in fact you acknowledged us in part, that we are your boast, as you also are ours, in the day of the Lord Jesus." Other possibilities of punctuation and construction are so numerous that it would be endless to exhibit them; and in the long-run they do not much affect the sense. What the reader has to seize is that Paul has been accused of insincerity, especially in his correspondence, and that he indignantly denies the charge; that, in spite of such accusations, he can point to at least a partial recognition among the Corinthians of what he and his fellow-workers really are; and that he hopes their confidence in him will increase and continue to the end. Should this bright hope be gratified, then in the day of the Lord Jesus it will be the boast of the Corinthians that they had the great Apostle Paul as their spiritual father, and the boast of the Apostle that the Corinthians were his spiritual children.

A passage like this-and there are many like it in St. Paul-has something in it humiliating. Is it not a disgrace to human nature that a man so open, so truthful, so brave, should be put to his defense on a charge of underhand dealing? Ought not somebody to have been deeply ashamed, for bringing this shame on the Apostle? Let us be very careful how we lend motives, especially to men whom we know to be better than ourselves. There is that in all our hearts which is hostile to them, and would not be grieved to see them degraded a little; and it is that, and nothing else, which supplies bad motives for their good actions, and puts an ambiguous face on their simplest behavior. "Deceit," says Solomon, "is in the heart of them that imagine evil"; it is our own selves that we condemn most surely when we pass our bad sentence upon others.

The immediate result of imputing motives, and putting a sinister interpretation on actions, is that mutual confidence is destroyed; and mutual confidence is the very element and atmosphere in which any spiritual good can be done. Unless a minister and his congregation recognize each other as in the main what they profess to be, their relation is destitute of spiritual reality; it may be an infinite weariness, or an infinite torment; it can never be a comfort or a delight on one side or the other. What would a family be, without the mutual confidence of husband and wife, of parents and children? What is a state worth, for any of the ideal ends for which a state exists, if those who represent it to the world have no instinctive sympathy with the general life, and if the collective conscience regards the leaders from a distance with dislike or distrust? And what is the pastoral relation worth, if, instead of mutual cordiality, openness, readiness to believe and to hope the best, instead of mutual intercession and thanksgiving, of mutual rejoicing in each other, there is suspicion, reserve, insinuation, coldness, a grudging recognition of what it is impossible to deny, a willingness to shake the head and to make mischief? What an experience of life we see, what a final appreciation of the best thing, in that utterance of St. John in extreme age: "Beloved, let us love one another." All that is good for us, all glory and joy, is summarily comprehended in that.

The last words of the text-"the day of the Lord Jesus"-recall a very similar passage in 1Th_2:19 : "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing-is it not even ye-before our Lord Jesus at His coming?" In both cases our minds are lifted to that great presence in which St. Paul habitually lived; and as we stand there our disagreements sink into their true proportions; our judgments of each other are seen in their true colors. No one will rejoice then that he has made evil out of good, that he has cunningly perverted simple actions, that he has discovered the infirmities of preachers, or set the saints at variance; the joy will be for those who have loved and trusted each other, who have borne each others faults and labored for their healing, who have believed all things, hoped all things, endured all things, rather than be parted from each other by any failure of love. The mutual confidence of Christian ministers and Christian people will then, after all its trials, have its exceeding great reward.

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

1:8-11 dear brothers and sisters: Greek adelphoi. This traditional term of affection is used to address members of the same family, both male and female. • The trouble we went through in the province of Asia is not easy to identify. One suggestion is the riot in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41). Another is that Paul was tried in a civil court and faced the prospect of execution in Ephesus (2 Cor 1:9; see 1 Cor 15:32). Less likely is that he suffered an acute life-threatening illness. Paul was no stranger to mortal danger (2 Cor 1:10; see also 4:10-12; 6:9; 11:23), but he was marvelously rescued by divine assistance (1:11).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Co 1:8. Ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, in Asia) 1Co 15:32, note. The Corinthians were not ignorant of that affliction, which had befallen him in Asia: but Paul now declares its magnitude and its advantageous result. [The whole epistle presents a journal of his travels; but most excellent precepts are interwoven with the narrative of them.—V. g.]—ὑπὲρ δύναμιν) above ordinary strength.—ἐξαπορηθῆναι, that we despaired) He affirms here, what he denies in another respect, 2Co 4:8; for he is speaking here of human, there of Divine assistance.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_1:8. Οὐ γ. θέλ. ὑμ. ἀγν.] See on Rom_1:13; Rom_11:25; 1Co_12:1; 1Th_4:13.

ὑπὲρ τῆς θλίψ.] regarding (de) the affliction, concerning the same. See Bernhardy, p. 244; Kühner, II. § 547, 2.

ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ] as in 1Co_16:19. What particular affliction is meant, and at what place it happened, we do not know. The readers, who must have known it, may have learnt it from Titus or otherwise. Perhaps it was the ἀντικείμενοι πολλοί, 1Co_16:9, who had prepared for him the extraordinary trial. The tumult of Demetrius in Ephesus, Act_19:23 ff. (Theodoret, Calvin, Estius, Cornelius a Lapide, Michaelis, Vater, Schrader, Olshausen, Osiander, Ewald, and others), is not to be thought of, since Paul was not in personal danger there, Act_19:30, and immediately after the tumult set out on his journey to Greece, Act_20:1. Heumann, Emmerling, Rückert, Bisping, suggest a severe illness. Against this it may be urged that, according to 2Co_1:5, it must have been a πάθημα τοῦ Χριστοῦ (for the special experience must be held as included under the general one previously spoken of), as well as that Paul speaks in the plural. Both grounds tell at the same time against Hofmann, who thinks of the shipwreck, 2Co_11:25, to which, in fact, ἐν τ. Ἀσίᾳ, 2Co_1:8, is not suitable, even if we ventured to make a mere stranding on the coast out of the incident. Besides, the reading ῥύεται, 2Co_1:10, militates against thi.

ὅτι καθʼ ὑπερβ. κ.τ.λ.] that we were burdened to the uttermost beyond strength, a statement of that which, in regard to the affliction mentioned, is not to be withheld from the readers. καθʼ ὑπερβολήν defines the degree of ἐβαρ. ὑπὲρ δύναμ. See Fritzsche, Diss. I. p. 1 f. (ut calamitates vires meas egregie superarent). The view which regards the two expressions as co-ordinate (Chrysostom, Luther, Calvin, Estius, and many, including Flatt, Rückert, Osiander, Hofmann): so heavy that it went beyond our ability, would place alongside of each other the objective greatness of the suffering and its disproportion to the subjectivity (see de Wette): still the position of ἐβαρ., as well as the want of a καί before ὑπέρ, is more favourable to the view which takes ἐβαρ. ὑπ. δύν. together; and this is also confirmed by the subjectivity of the following ὥστε ἐξαπορ. κ.τ.λ. The suffering made itself palpable to him as a πειρασμὸς οὐκ ἀνθρώπινος (1Co_10:13). Rückert, moreover, has no ground for thinking that ἐβαρήθ. is inappropriately used of persecutions, attempts to murder, and the like, and that ὑπὲρ δύναμιν is also opposed to it. βαρύς, βαρέω, and βαρύνω are used of all troubles by which we feel ourselves burdened. See the passages from Homer in Duncan, Lex., ed. Rost, p. 202; comp. Plat. Crit. p. 43 C; Soph. Trach. 151; Theocr. xvii. 61, and expressions like βαρύμοχθος, βαρύποτμος, βαρυπενθής, βαρυδαίμων, and the lik.

ὥστε ἐξαπορ. κ.τ.λ.] so that we became quite perplexed even (καί) in regard to life, placed in the highest perplexity even with regard to the preservation of our life, ἐκ strengthens the simple verb, iv. 8. Polyb. i. 62. 1, iii. 47. 9, 48. 4. The genitive (τοῦ ζῆν) is the usual case in Greek with ἀπορεῖν, in the sense of having lack of something; seldom is it found in the sense of being perplexed about something (Dem. 1380, 4; Plat. Conv. p. 193 E).

2Co_1:8-11. Out of his own (and Timothys) experience of suffering and comfort, Paul now informs his readers of something special which had lately befallen the two in Asia. The fact in itself he assumes as known to them, but he desires to bring to their knowledge the consoling help of God in it. There is nothing to indicate a reference to an utterance of the church (Hofmann) concerning the event.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 1:8-11 . HIS RECENT PERIL. 2Co 1:8 . οὐ γὰρ θέλομεν κ . τ . λ .: for we would not have you ignorant, brethren, about (for ὑπέρ with gen. in this sense, cf. chap. 2Co 8:23 , 2Co 12:8 , 2Th 2:1 ) our affliction which happened in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life . Having spoken in general terms of the Divine comfort in times of trouble, he goes on to mention his own particular case, the “affliction which befel him in Asia”. What was this? Asia almost certainly means Ephesus , where he had lately been exposed to many adversaries (1Co 15:32 ; 1Co 16:9 ). We naturally think of the tumult recorded in Act 19:23 ff.; but the language here used is so strong that he must have been exposed to something worse than a temporary riot. He was “weighed down beyond his power” ( ὑπὲρ δύναμιν , a phrase which he never uses elsewhere, and which is specially remarkable from the pen of one who always gloried in the Divine δύναμις granted to him, of which he said πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με , Phi 4:13 ); he “despaired of life,” and yet he describes in this very Epistle (2Co 4:8 ) his general attitude in tribulation as “perplexed, yet not despairing”. Nor have we knowledge of any persecution at Ephesus so violent as to justify such language, though no doubt the allusion may be to something of the kind. Whatever the “affliction” was, the Corinthians were acquainted with it, for St. Paul does not enter into details, but mentions it only to inform them of its gravity, and to assure them of his trust in his ultimate deliverance. On the whole, it seems most likely that the reference is to grievous bodily sickness, which brought the Apostle down to the gates of death (see 2Co 1:9 , and cf. chap. 2Co 4:10 and 2Co 12:7 ff.). Such an affliction would be truly ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ; and it would be necessary to contemplate its recurrence (2Co 1:10 ). St. Paul in this Epistle, with unusual frequency, uses the plural ἡμεῖς when speaking of himself; sometimes this can be explained by the fact that Timothy was associated with him in the writing of the letter (2Co 1:1 ), but in other passages ( e.g. , 2Co 1:10 , 2Co 5:13 ; 2Co 5:16 , 2Co 10:7 ; 2Co 10:11 ; 2Co 10:15 , 2Co 11:21 ) such an explanation will not suit the context, which demands the individual application of the pronoun.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. Οὐ γὰρ θἐλομεν ὑμᾶς ἀγονεῖν. A frequent expression with S. Paul; 1Co 10:1; 1Co 12:1; Rom 1:13; 1Th 4:13. Comp. γνωρίζομεν ὑμῖν (2Co 8:1; 1Co 12:3; 1Co 15:1; Gal 1:11), and θέλω ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι (1Co 11:3; Col 2:1). These phrases introduce what is regarded as of special importance.

ὑπὲρ τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν τῆς γενομένης ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ. Concerning our affliction which came to pass in Asia. The Roman province of Asia, which had been bequeathed to the Romans by Attalus III. in B.C. 133, is meant. In popular language ‘Asia’ meant the coastlands of Asia Minor on the Aegean (see Hort on 1Pe 1:1). It included the Seven Churches (Rev 1:4). Comp. 1Co 16:19; Rom 16:5; 2Ti 1:15.

ὅτι καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν. That beyond measure (Gal 1:13), above strength, we were weighed down. The load in itself was an excessive one, and it was more than there was strength to sustain. Or καθʼ ὑπερβολήν may qualify ὑπὲρ δύναμιν, exceedingly above our strength, so that we utterly despaired even of life. In the N.T. ὑπερβολή is peculiar to this group of Epistles, where it occurs eight times; in the LXX. only once, in the phrase καθʼ ὑπερβολήν (4Ma 3:18), which S. Paul uses 2Co 4:17; 1Co 12:31; Gal 1:13; Rom 7:13. Note the strong compound ἑξαπορηθῆναι (here and 2Co 4:8 only).

What is the terrible affliction which befell S. Paul (and Timothy?) in Asia? Not the outcry against the Apostle raised by Demetrius at Ephesus (Act 19:23-41), for S. Paul’s life was scarcely in danger then; and, as soon as the uproar was over, he peacefully followed Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia (Act 20:1). And perhaps neither a shipwreck nor a severe illness would have been classed as ‘sufferings of the Christ.’ More probably he refers to the crushing news, which had been brought to him in Asia, of the state of things in Corinth, especially as regards repudiation of the Apostle’s teaching and rebellion against his authority. As he does not specify what it is, it must be something well known to the Corinthians. All that he tells them here is how severe it was. To the highly sensitive and tender-hearted missionary, this revolt of the Church which he had founded in one of the most important centres in the world, and which he loved so well, was overwhelming. He did not expect, and perhaps he hardly wished, to survive it. The news of it may well have produced an amount of suffering such as is here described. Nor is there any improbability in his letting the Corinthians know how their conduct had affected him, especially after Titus, who would tell them the nature of S. Paul’s affliction, had left him. It is part of the strong appeal which in this letter he makes to them; for it proves his intense interest and affection, and may convince them of the gravity of their conduct. It might well be counted among ‘sufferings of the Christ.’ Like those, it was the outcome of the conflict with evil, and (to a large extent) of conflict with Jewish hostility. When all the circumstances are considered, the language of 2Co 1:8-10 does not seem extravagant for such a trial. But a combination of personal and official troubles may be meant.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I know not at all what to do, neither did I see by man’s help which way to save my life.

He witnesseth that he is not only not ashamed of his afflictions, but that he desireth also to have all men know the greatness of them, and also his delivery from them, although it be not yet perfect.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Referring to the imminent risk of life which he ran in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41) when the whole multitude were wrought up to fury by Demetrius, on the plea of Paul and his associates having assailed the religion of Diana of Ephesus. The words (Co2 1:9), "we had the sentence of death in ourselves," mean, that he looked upon himself as a man condemned to die [PALEY]. ALFORD thinks the danger at Ephesus was comparatively so slight that it cannot be supposed to be the subject of reference here, without exposing the apostle to a charge of cowardice, very unlike his fearless character; hence, he supposes Paul refers to some deadly sickness which he had suffered under (Co2 1:9-10). But there is little doubt that, had Paul been found by the mob in the excitement, he would have been torn in pieces; and probably, besides what Luke in Acts records, there were other dangers of an equally distressing kind, such as, "lyings in wait of the Jews" (Act 20:19), his ceaseless foes. They, doubtless, had incited the multitude at Ephesus (Act 19:9), and were the chief of the "many adversaries" and "[wild] beasts," which he had to fight with there (Co1 15:32; Co1 16:9). His weak state of health at the time combined with all this to make him regard himself as all but dead (Co2 11:29; Co2 12:10). What makes my supposition probable is, that the very cause of his not having visited Corinth directly as he had intended, and for which he proceeds to apologize (Co2 1:15-23), was, that there might be time to see whether the evils arising there not only from Greek, but from Jewish disturbers of the Church (Co2 11:29), would be checked by his first Epistle; there not being fully so was what entailed on him the need of writing this second Epistle. His not specifying this here expressly is just what we might expect in the outset of this letter; towards the close, when he had won their favorable hearing by a kindly and firm tone, he gives a more distinct reference to Jewish agitators (Co2 11:22).

above strength--that is, ordinary, natural powers of endurance.

despaired--as far as human help or hope from man was concerned. But in respect to help from God we were "not in despair" (Co2 4:8).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 8. Our trouble which came to us in Asia] To what part of his history the apostle refers we know not: some think it is to the Jews lying in wait to kill him, Ac 20:3; others, to the insurrection raised against him by Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen, Ac 19:23; others, to his fighting with beasts at Ephesus, 1Co 15:32, which they understand literally; and others think that there is a reference here to some persecution which is not recorded in any part of the apostle's history.

We were pressed out of measure, above strength] The original is exceedingly emphatic: καθ' ὑπερβολην εβαρηθημεν ὑπερ δυναμιν· we were weighed down beyond what is credible, even beyond what any natural strength could support. There is no part of St. Paul's history known to us which can justify these strong expressions, except his being stoned at Lystra; which if not what is here intended, the facts to which he refers are not on record. As Lystra was properly in Asia, unless he mean Asia Minor, and his stoning at Lystra did most evidently destroy his life, so that his being raised was an effect of the miraculous power of God; he might be supposed to refer to this. See Clarke on Ac 14:19, c. But it is very likely that the reference is to some terrible persecution which he had endured some short time before his writing this epistle and with the outlines of which the Corinthians had been acquainted.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8. For I would not have you ignorant He makes mention of the greatness and difficulty of his conflicts, that the glory of victory may thereby the more abundantly appear. Since the time of his sending them the former epistle, he had been exposed to great dangers, and had endured violent assaults. The probability, however, is that he refers here to the history, which Luke relates in Acts 19:23, though in that passage he does not so distinctly intimate the extent of the danger. As, however, he states that the whole city was in a tumult, (Acts 19:29,) it is easy from this to infer the rest. For we know what is the usual effect of a popular tumult, when it has been once kindled. By this persecution Paul declares he had been oppressed beyond measure, nay more, above strength, that is, so as not to be able to endure the burden. For it is a metaphor taken from persons who give way under the pressure of a heavy load, or from ships that sink from being overladen — not that he had actually fainted, but that he felt that his strength would have failed him, if the Lord had not imparted fresh strength.

So that we were in anxiety even as to life itself — that is, “So that I thought life was gone, or at least I had very little hope of it remaining, as those are wont to feel who are shut up so as to see no way of escape.” Was then so valiant a soldier of Christ, so brave a wrestler, left without strength, so as to look for nothing but death? For he mentions it as the reason of what he had stated — that he despaired of life. I have already observed, that Paul does not measure his strength in connection with help from God, but according to his own personal feeling of his ability. Now there can be no doubt, that all human strength must give way before the fear of death. Farther, it is necessary that even saints themselves should be in danger of an entire failure of strength, that, being put in mind of their own weakness, they may learn, agreeably to what follows, to place their entire dependence on God alone. At the same time I have preferred to explain the word ἐξαπορεῖσθαι, which is made use of by Paul, as denoting a trembling anxiety, rather than render it, as Erasmus has done by the word despair; because he simply means, that he was hemmed in by the greatest difficulties, so that no means of preserving life seemed to remain.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(8) We would not, brethren, have you ignorant.—From the generalised language of the previous verses he passes to something more specific. The phrase by which he calls attention to the importance of what he is about to write is characteristic of the Epistles of this period (Rom_1:13; 1Co_10:1; 1Co_12:1; 1Th_4:13).

Our trouble which came to us in Asia.—The allusion may possibly be to the Demetrius tumult of Act_19:24-41, or to some like time of danger, such as that referred to in 1Co_15:32. On the other hand, however, he would probably, in that case, have spoken of a definitely localised danger, as he does in the last reference as being “in Ephesus.” The words “in Asia” suggest a wider range of suffering, such as we find referred to in the speech to the elders at Miletus (Act_20:19), and the context leads us to think of bodily illness as well as of perils and anxieties.

We were pressed out of measure.—The adverbial phrase is specially characteristic of the Epistles of this period. We find it in the “exceedingly sinful” of Rom_7:13; the “more excellent (or, transcending) way” of 1Co_12:31; and again in 2Co_4:17; Gal_1:13.

Insomuch that we despaired even of life.—The language is obviously more vividly descriptive of the collapse of illness than of any peril such as those referred to in the previous Note. St. Paul could hardly have despaired of life during the tumult of Acts 19.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8. For we would not … have you ignorant] A favourite expression with St Paul. Cf. Rom_1:13; 1Co_10:1; 1Co_12:1; 1Th_4:13.

of our trouble which came to us in Asia] Some have referred these expressions (1) to the tumult at Ephesus, Acts 19. Others have supposed, in consequence of the very strong expressions here, that some other trouble, a grievous sickness perhaps, is referred to, especially as St Paul says in Asia, not in Ephesus. But Dean Stanley’s remark that “here, as elsewhere, we may observe the under-statement of St Paul’s sufferings in the Acts” (see also ch. 2Co_11:24-27 and notes), suggests the inference that the tumult at Ephesus was far more serious than it would appear to be from St Luke’s account. We can hardly suppose that the mere ‘dismissal of the assembly’ by the ‘town-clerk’ entirely appeased the multitude. And it is quite possible, since St Luke’s object in the Acts was rather a vindication of St Paul’s ministry than a glorification of his person, that he omits to mention a determined attempt upon St Paul’s life made by Demetrius and the craftsmen, as afterwards (Act_23:12-15) by the Jews at Jerusalem. For the word translated trouble here and elsewhere, see note on 2Co_1:4.

Asia] By this is meant Asia Minor. So also Act_2:9. But it seems (see Act_16:6) not to have included the whole peninsula usually known by that name.

pressed] Literally, weighed down. Gravati, Calvin; greved, Wiclif, whom the other English versions followed till the Rhemish, from which the A. V. appears to have borrowed its pressed. The expression conveys the idea of anxiety, but is not irreconcileable with the notion of a prolonged effort to escape those who thirsted for his life.

out of measure] Cf. for the same Greek word (though it is variously rendered in English) Rom_7:13; 1Co_12:31; Gal_1:13, and especially ch. 2Co_4:17. Dr Plumptre remarks that the word occurs exclusively in the Epistles of this period of St Paul’s life.

despaired] This expression confirms the idea of a plot to kill the Apostle. Literally, it means that he was utterly at a loss (rathlos, Meyer) to know what to do to protect his life. See ch. 2Co_4:8, where the same word occurs.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble,.... The apostle was very desirous that the Corinthians might be thoroughly acquainted with the trouble that had lately befallen them; partly because it would clearly appear from hence what reason he had to give thanks to God as he had done; and partly, that they might be encouraged to trust in God, when in the utmost extremity; but chiefly in order to remove a charge brought against him by the false apostles; who, because he had promised to come to Corinth, and as yet had not come, accused him of lightness and inconstancy, in as much as he had not kept his promise. Now to show that it was not owing to any such temper and disposition of mind in him, he would have them know, that though he sincerely intended a journey to them, yet was hindered from pursuing it, by a very great affliction which befell him: the place where this sore trouble came upon him, is expressed to be in Asia: some have thought it refers to all the troubles he met with in Asia, for the space of three years, whereby he was detained longer than he expected; but it seems as though some single affliction is here particularly designed: many interpreters have been of opinion, that the tumult raised by Demetrius at Ephesus is here meant, when Paul and his companions were in great danger of their lives, Act 19:21, but this uproar being but for a day, could not be a reason why, as yet, he had not come to Corinth: it seems rather to be some other very sore affliction, and which lasted longer, that is not recorded in the Acts of the Apostles: the greatness of this trouble is set forth in very strong expressions,

as that we were pressed out of measure. The affliction was as an heavy burden upon them, too heavy to bear; it was exceeding heavy, , even to an "hyperbole", beyond expression; and

above strength, that is, above human strength, the strength of nature; and so the Syriac renders it, , "above our strength"; but not above the strength of grace, or that spiritual strength communicated to them, by which they were supported under it: the apostle adds,

insomuch that we despaired even of life; they were at the utmost loss, and in the greatest perplexity how to escape the danger of life; they greatly doubted of it; they saw no probability nor possibility, humanly speaking, of preserving it.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

8 For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

Ver. 8. For we would not, &c.] It is of great use to know the sufferings that others have sustained before us. The primitive Christians kept catalogues of their martyrs. Dr Taylor the martyr at his death gave his son Thomas a Latin book, containing the sayings and sufferings of the old martyrs, collected by himself. In the English seminaries beyond seas, they have at dinner time their martyrology read, that is, the legend of our English traitors.

We despaired even of life] God is often better to us than our hopes; he reserves usually his holy hand for a dead lift, he comes in the nick of time, and our extremity is his opportunity. {See Trapp on "Luk 18:8"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For we would not have you ignorant - We wish you to be fully informed; see the notes, 1Co 10:1; 1Co 12:1. The object of Paul here is, to give a full explanation of the nature of his trials, to which he had referred in 2Co 1:4. He presumed that the Corinthians would feel a deep interest in him and in his trials; that they would sympathize with him, and would pray that those sufferings, and that this deliverance might be attended with a blessing 2Co 1:11; and perhaps he wished also to conciliate their kindness toward himself by mentioning more at length the nature of the trials which he had been called to endure on account of the Christian religion, of which they were reaping so material benefits.

Of our trouble which came to us in Asia - The term “Asia” is often used to denote that part of Asia Minor of which Ephesus was the capital; see the note, Act 2:9. There has been considerable diversity of opinion as to the “troubles” to which Paul here refers. Some have supposed that he refers to the persecutions at Lystra Act 14:6, Act 14:19-20, from which he had been recovered as it were by miracle; but as that happened so long before this, it seems improbable that he should here refer to it. There is every mark of freshness and recentness about this event; and Paul evidently referred to some danger from which he had been lately delivered, and which made a deep impression on his mind when he wrote this Epistle. Semler supposes that he refers to the lying in wait of the Jews for him when he was about to go to Macedonia, mentioned in Act 20:3. Most commentators have supposed that be refers to the disturbances which were made at Ephesus by Demetrius and his friends, mentioned in Acts 19, and by reason of which he was compelled to leave the city.

The only objection to this is, that which is mentioned by Whitby and Macknight, that as Paul did not go into the theater there Act 19:31, he incurred no such risk of his life as to justify the strong expressions mentioned in 2Co 1:9-10. They suppose, therefore, that he refers to the danger to which he was exposed in Ephesus on another occasion, when he was compelled to fight there with wild beasts; see 1Co 15:32. But nearly all these opinions may be reconciled, perhaps, by supposing that he refers to the group of calamities to which he had been exposed in Asia, and from which he had just escaped by going to Macedonia - referring perhaps more particularly to the conflict which he had been compelled to have with the wild beasts there. There was the riot excited by Demetrius Acts 19, in which his life had been endangered, and from which he had just escaped; and there had been the conflict with the wild beasts at Ephesus (see the note, 1Co 15:32), which perhaps had occurred but just before; and there were the plots of the Jews against him Act 20:3, from which, also, he had just been delivered. By these trials, his life had been endangered, perhaps, more than once, and he had been called to look death calmly in the face, and to anticipate the probability that he might soon die. Of these trials; of all these trials, he would not have the Corinthians ignorant; but desired that they should be fully apprized of them, that they might sympathize with him, and that through their prayers they might be turned to his benefit.

That we were pressed out of measure - see Acts 19. We were borne down, or weighed down by calamity (ἐβαρηθεμεν ebarēthemen) exceedingly καθ ̓ ὑπερβολὴς kath' huperbolēs, supereminently. The expression denotes excess, eminence, or intensity. It is one of Paul’s common and very strong expressions to denote anything that is intensive or great; see Rom 7:13; Gal 1:13; 2Co 4:17.

Above strength - Beyond our strength. More than in ourselves we were able to bear.

Insomuch that we despaired even of life - Either expecting to be destroyed by the wild beasts with which he had to contend, or to be destroyed by the people. This was one of the instances undoubtedly, to which he refers in 2Co 11:23, where he says he had been “in death oft.” And this was one of the many cases in which Paul was called on to contemplate death as near. It was doubtless one cause of his fidelity, and of his great success in his work, that he was thus called to regard death as near at hand, and that, to use the somewhat unpoetical, but deeply affecting lines of Baxter, expressing a sentiment which guided all his ministry, and which was one source of his eminent success,

He preach’d as though he ne’er would preach again,

As a dying man to dying men.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

That we were weary even of life.[2] The Greek seems to imply the condition of one, who knows not what way to turn himself, seeing no prospect to avoid the dangers. (Witham) --- The sufferings which we underwent in Asia were so great, that we despaired of escaping even with our life. We were in daily expectation of death; like the criminal, who has been condemned to death, we had no hopes of escaping, but we trusted in God, who has delivered us from all danger, by you intercession, ver. 11. He alludes to the tumult raised at Ephesus, and other afflictions which befell him on that account, which, though not mentioned in the Acts, (chap. xix. 24, &c.) were of such nature as to make him weary of life. (St. John Chrysostom)

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[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Ita ut tæderet nos etiam vivere, Greek: oste exaporethenai. See St. John Chrysostom, Greek: om. B. p. 550.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

We are at a great loss to determine what these troubles were in Asia, of which the apostle doth here speak. We read of several troubles Paul met with in Asia: it was there he was in danger through the tumult raised by Demetrius, Act 19:23. It was there (at Ephesus) where he fought with beasts after the manner of men, as he told us in the former Epistle, 1Co 15:32. Whoso readeth Act 19:1-41 and Act 20:1-38, will find the largest account we have in Scripture of the troubles Paul met with in Asia. But this Epistle is thought to have been written at a time that will not agree to the time of those troubles; therefore they are thought to have been some troubles of which we have a mention no where else in holy writ.

We were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life: whatsoever they were, this text tells us they were very great, and above his natural strength to have borne; some think, above the strength of ordinary Christians, insomuch that if the apostle had not found the more than ordinary assistances of the Spirit of God, he could not have stood under them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant. This is a favourite phrase with St. Paul (Rom_1:13 Rom_11:25; 1Th_4:13) Of our trouble; rather, about our affliction. He assumes that they are aware what the trouble was, and he does not specially mention it. What he wants them to know is that, by the help of their prayers and sympathy, God had delivered him out of this affliction, crushing as it was. Which came to us in Asia. Most commentators refer this to the tumult at Ephesus; (Ac 19) and since St. Paul"s dangers, sicknesses, and troubles are clearly understated throughout the Acts, it is possible that the perils and personal maltreatment which were liable to occur during such a season of excitement may have brought on some violent illness; or, again, be may have suffered from some plots (1Co_16:9; Act_20:19) or shipwreck. (2Co_11:25) In Rom_16:4 he alludes again to some extreme peril. But St. Paul seems systematically to have made light of external dangers and sufferings. All his strongest expressions (see Rom_9:1-3, etc.) are reserved for mental anguish and affliction. What he felt most keenly was the pang of lacerated affections. It is, therefore, possible that he is here alluding to the overpowering tumult of feelings which had been aroused by his anxiety as to the reception likely to be accorded to his first letter. To this and the accompanying circumstances he alludes again and. (2Co_2:4, 12 7:5, etc.) The sense of "comfort" resulting from the tidings brought by Titus (2Co_7:6, 2Co_7:7, 2Co_7:13) is as strong as that expressed in these verses, and the allusion to this anguish of heart is specially appropriate here, because he is dwelling on the sympathetic communion between himself and his converts, both in their sorrows and their consolations. That we were pressed cut of measure, above strength; literally, that toe were weighed down exceedingly beyond our power. The trial seemed too heavy for him to bear. The phrase here rendered "out of measure" occurs in 2Co_4:17; 1Co_12:31; Gal_1:13; but is only found in this particular group of letters. Insomuch that we despaired even of life. This rendering conveys the meaning. Literally it is, so that we were even in utter perplexity (2Co_4:8) even about life. "I fell into such agony of mind that I hardly hoped to survive." Generally, although he was often in perplexity, he succeeded in resisting despair. (2Co_4:8)

Vers. 8-11.

In the depths and out of them.

I THE EMERGENCIES OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD. God"s children are often afflicted children. Far from escaping trial, it is frequently multiplied to them. Through much tribulation they enter the kingdom; with much tribulation they often abide in it whilst on earth. For them the furnace seems not seldom to be made "seven times hotter." Children of sorrows follow the "Man of sorrows." Like the apostle, they are sometimes "pressed out of measure," "weighed down exceedingly" (ver. 8), until their own power collapses. It is uncertain to what special exigency Paul refers, but in such straits was he that even his brave heart despaired of life. Happy are we if, like him, we do not in such tribulation despair of God. When our strength fails, his is untouched. As easy is it for him to deliver us when we are in great peril as when we are in little. God knows nothing of emergency.

II THE LESSONS OF TRIAL AND PERIL. Very numerous to teach us our weakness, to induce the pilgrim spirit, to bend our will to God"s, to rouse us from lethargy, etc. One chief lesson noted here is to lead us to trust in God (ver. 9). He "raiseth the dead," and can do all things for us. Our perfect helplessness is demonstrated, and then faith lays hold of God"s perfect helpfulness. Creatures become nothing, especially that very little creature, ourself. The soul cries out for God, and can rest upon nothing but omnipotence. This is Christian life despairing of our own power, confident in God"s. God sometimes keeps us in the fiercely hot furnace until he sees us walking therein by the side of the Son of God. (Dan_3:25) Before we felt the fire we thought we could walk alone. God shakes us until he has shaken all the self-trust out of us. Self-confidence is poison; trial is intended to destroy that poison. When everything seems to fail us but God, then we lie at his feet.

III PROVIDENCE DOES NOT EXCLUDE PRAYER. (Ver. 11.) In our extremity we can do one thing we can cry to God. The afflicted believer should say, "This one thing I do.

1. Our own prayer. Christians should not be dumb dogs. The command to pray is bound up with the command to trust. Prayer is proof of a trustful spirit. A confidence in God which makes us too lazy to call upon him is a confidence which will get more blows than blessings. We may be kept in the fires till we find our voice.

2. The prayers of others. The apostle evidently believed in the efficacy of intercessory prayer (ver. 11). He regarded such prayer as very real "help." Confidence in God"s help which excludes confidence in spiritual help from our fellows is not so pleasing or honouring to God as some imagine. He has ever honoured united" prayer. The prayers of saints are very precious and very prevailing as they ascend from the golden altar. God was very willing to deliver Peter out of prison, but he gave to the saints at Jerusalem the great honour of praying him out. (Act_12:5) The prayers of righteous men avail much. God loves not only solo praying, but choral praying.

IV PRAYER ANSWERED IN PROVIDENCE CALLS FOR PRAISE. (Ver. 11.) Oftentimes, alas! we are so pleased with our deliverance that we forget to thank God for it. We say "Thank you" to every one except God. These things ought not so to be. When God hears us once in supplication, he should hear us once again in thanksgiving. Deliverances by God call for "songs of loudest praise." When prayer has been answered, praise should be exceedingly full and hearty. We do not prevail in prayer because we didand were unthankful When many have prayed and have been answered many should give thanks. We must have united praise meetings as well as united prayer meetings. H.

Vers. 8-11.

The sanctifying influence of nearness to death.

In God"s providence he brings his people sometimes to the "borderland," and, after giving the expectation, and almost the experience, of death, he leads them back to life and labour and relations again. Of this Hezekiah is the prominent Bible example. The sufferings through which the apostle had passed are not here detailed, and there is found much difficulty in deciding to what experiences he refers. Some think he recalls the tumult in Ephesus, which Dean Stanley shows was a more serious affair than Luke"s narrative alone would suggest. Others think that some time of grievous and imperilling sickness is alluded to. And the apostle"s mind may go further back to the stoning at Lystra, when he was left for dead. (see Act_14:19) It has been remarked that "the language is obviously more vividly descriptive of the collapse of illness than of any other peril." The point to which we now direct attention is that the sufferings imperilled life and brought him to the full contemplation of death brought him to the "borderland;" and he gives the Corinthians some account of his feelings and experiences at the time, and tries to estimate some of the spiritual results then attained. They are these

I A FEELING OF SELF HELPLESSNESS. Man never feels that fully until he faces death. He knows that no resolution, no energy, no sacrifice, can ensure his "discharge from that war" He can do nothing, and that most humiliating conviction may be a part of our necessary experience. Somewhere in life we need to be brought up before a great sea, with mountains around and foes before, much as Israel was when led forth from Egypt. It is good for us to feel helpless, utterly helpless, and then to hear the voice saying, "Stand still, and see the salvation of God.

II DELIVERANCE FROM SELF TRUST. Some sort of reliance on ourselves is necessary in order to meet the claims of life aright, and do its duties faithfully. Some measures of self-reliance blend with the Christian"s trust in God all through his life of activity and service. Seldom, indeed, are full surrender to God, and entire conformity to his will, and simple reliance on his care, really won; and the experience of nearness to death alone breaks away the last bonds binding us to self, and enables us to "trust wholly." Life, after visiting the "borderland," may be wholly the "life of faith upon the Son of God.

III FULL CONFIDENCE IN THE CONTINUING AND ABOUNDING OF DIVINE GRACE. This follows from so extreme an experience of what "almighty grace can do." Short of the experience of death, we may doubt whether "grace" can meet us at every point of our need; whether there really are no complications of circumstances which may overmaster grace. A man may say Grace can meet many needs, but not just this condition or this particular frailty. A man brought back from the "borderland" has won an impression of God"s power and mercy that enables him to look forward to life and feel that God"s efficient grime can be with him everywhere and in everything. It is St. Paul, who "had the sentence of death in himself," who was a personally delivered man, and who spoke of God as being able to make all grace abound towards us, so that we, having all sufficiency in all things, might abound unto every good word and work. (2Co_9:8) Death is the climax of all human woes, and he who can deliver from death can master all our troubles and "make all things work together for good." In concluding, show that the sanctified influence of his extreme experience may be seen in the tone and spirit and manner of the Christian thus brought back from the "borderland;" but that there is great danger of misusing even such Divine dealings with us, as Hezekiah seems to have done. A man restored from imperilling sickness may presume on the very mercy which has been so gloriously manifested in his case. We should take as our model such an experience as that of the Apostle Paul. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We would not have you ignorant, brethren, of the trouble which befell us in Asia - Probably the same which is described in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts. The Corinthians knew before that he had been in trouble: he now declares the greatness and the fruit of it. We were exceedingly pressed, above our strength - Above the ordinary strength even of an apostle.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Observe here, 1. That it is of no small benefit and advantage, but of excellent use to us, to know what are the troubles and afflictions which do befall the servants of God for righteousness’ sake: We would not have you ignorant of our trouble.

Observe, 2. How pressing the troubles and afflictions were which this apostle underwent: they were out of measure, above strength, and even to the despairing of life.

Thence note, That God may, and sometimes does, exercise his servants with such extreme and pressing trials, that all their own natural strength is unable to support them under them, or carry them through them: We were pressed above strength, and despaired even of life.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life:

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

8–11. We would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble. I believe, in opposition to many commentators, that the great trial at Ephesus, caused by Demetrius and his fellow-craftsmen, is referred to. See Acts, chapter 19. Asia. The Roman province of Asia, embracing the western part of Asia Minor. Ephesus was its capital. We despaired even of life. It is evident that the record in Acts does not give all the dangers that threatened Paul in Ephesus. His precipitate departure from Ephesus immediately after the riot shows that he was in danger. See Acts 20:1. He was not the man to exaggerate his danger. The allusions here, and in 1 Cor. 15:31, 32, show that he met with extreme peril.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

we do not want you to be uninformed

This can be stated in positive terms. AT: "we want you to know" (See: Litotes)

We were so completely crushed beyond our strength

Paul and Timothy refer to their emotions of despair being like a heavy weight they have to carry. (See: Metaphor)

We were so completely crushed

The word "crushed" refers to the feeling of despair. This can be stated in active form. AT: "The troubles we experienced completely crushed us" or "We were in complete despair" (See: Active or Passive)

we had the sentence of death on us

Paul and Timothy are comparing their feeling of despair to that of someone condemned to die. AT: "we were in despair like someone who is condemned to die" (See: Metaphor)

but instead in God

The words "put our trust" are left out of this phrase. AT: "but instead, to put our trust in God" (See: Ellipsis)

who raises the dead

Here to raise is an idiom for causing someone who has died to become alive again. AT: "who causes the dead to live again" (See: Idiom)

a deadly peril

Paul compares his feeling of despair as a result of the troubles that they experienced to a deadly peril or terrible danger. AT: "despair" (See: Metaphor)

he will continue to deliver us

"he will continue to rescue us"

translationWords

brother

Asia

hope

die

raise

God

deliver

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

8.] see var. read.

It is generally supposed that the tribulation here spoken of was the danger into which Paul was brought by the tumult at Ephesus, related in Act_19. This opinion has been recently defended by Neander, Wieseler, and Dr. Davidson, but impugned by De Wette, on the grounds, (1) that ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ can hardly refer to Ephesus, which Paul generally names, 1Co 15:32; 1Co 16:8; (2) that he was not in danger of his life in this tumult. The first ground is hardly tenable: there would be an appropriateness in ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ here, as he has in his mind an apologetic account of the reasons which hindered him from leaving those parts and coming to them. I own, however, that the strong expressions here used do not seem to me to find their justification in any thing which we know of that tumult or its consequences. I am unable to assign any other event as in the Apostle’s mind: but the expressions seem rather to regard a deadly sickness, than a persecution: see below, vv. 9, 10.

καθʼ ὑπερβ. signifies the greatness of the affliction itself, objectively considered: ὑπὲρ δύν., the relation of it to our power of endurance, subjectively.

ὥστε ἐξ.] So that we utterly despaired even of life. Such an expression surely would not be used of a tumult, where life would have been the first thing in danger, if Paul had been at all mixed up in it,—but to some wearing and tedious suffering, inducing despondency in minor matters, which even reached the hope of life itself.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

8-11. The Thanksgiving still continues, these verses explaining (γάρ) why he blesses God for mercies to himself rather than for graces bestowed on them, and the wording continues to be obscure. The obscurity may be due to reference to a delicate matter which is understood rather than expressed. This would be very intelligible, if the ‘affliction’ is the Corinthian rebellion against the Apostle, and the ‘comfort’ is their submission and reconciliation to him. But a reference to persecution is not impossible.

8. Οὐ γὰρ θέλομεν ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν, ἀδελφοί. The formula is used six times by St Paul (1Co 10:1, 1Co 10:12:1; Rom 1:13, Rom 1:11:25; 1Th 4:13), always with ἀδελφοί, as if the information given was an appeal to their affection and sympathy. Excepting 1Co 12:3, where ἀδελφοί has preceded, the similar expression, γνωρίζω (-ομεν) ὑμῖν, is also followed by ἁδελφοί (8:8; 1Co 15:1; Gal 1:11). The less frequent θέλω ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι (1Co 11:3; Col 2:1) is not so followed. Similar expressions are found in papyri; γινώσκειν σε θέλω is often placed at the beginning of letters. It is not quite exact to say that logically the οὐ belongs to ἀγνοεῖν: there is something which he does not wish. The expression is not parallel with οὐκ ἔφη χρήσειν, which does not mean that she did not say that she would, but that she said that she would not. St Paul does not wish the Corinthians to remain in ignorance of the intensity of his recent affliction, for when they know how greatly he has suffered, they will regard their own sufferings more patiently, and will also appreciate his present comfort and derive comfort from it.

τῆς θλίψεως ἡμῶν τῆς γενομένης ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ. Evidently the θλίψις is something which the Corinthians already know, for the vague statement that it ‘took place in Asia’ is enough to tell them what he means. He gives no particulars, but merely enlarges upon the terrible effect which the affliction had upon himself. This leaves plenty of room for conjecture, and there are many guesses. We must find something very severe and capable of being regarded as ‘sufferings of the Christ.’ Neither illness nor shipwreck seem to be very suitable, and a shipwreck would hardly have been described as taking place ‘in Asia.’ News that his beloved Corinthians had rebelled against him, and thereby had set an example of revolt to other Churches in Europe, is more probable. Such tidings might go far towards making so sensitive and affectionate a worker think that he could not live any longer. On the other hand, it is perhaps a little improbable that, after the joyous reconciliation, he should revive the past by telling them that they had almost killed him by their misbehaviour. Yet he might do this in order to show them how intensely everything that they do affects him.* If this conjecture is set aside as improbable—and the language of vv. 8-10 does seem to be rather strong for the effect of painful news—we may fall back upon the hypothesis of persecution, not by officials, but by furious mobs, consisting of, or hounded on by, exasperated Jews, so that he was nearly torn in pieces by them (1Co 15:31, 1Co 15:32). Such θλίψις would fitly be compared with ‘the sufferings of the Messiah.’ This is Tertullian’s view (De Resur. Carnis, 48); the pressura apud Asiam refers to illas bestias Asiaticae pressurae. Those who, with Paley, think that the reference is to the uproar raised by Demetrius at Ephesus (Act 19:23-41) must admit that, in that case, St Luke has given an inadequate account of St Paul’s peril, for he gives no hint that he was near being killed. Paley’s argument suffices to show that vv. 8, 9 cannot have been written by a forger who wished to make an allusion to Act_19.; a forger would have made the allusion more distinct; but it does not prove that the allusion is to Acts 19.. There may easily have been a much worse outbreak at Ephesus somewhat later, and even a plot to kill St Paul, as in Act 23:12, and this peril may have hastened his departure from Ephesus. It is probably right to assume that ‘in Asia’ means in Ephesus. Ephesus was the metropolis of the Roman province of Asia, which contained the Seven Churches of Rev 1:11. See on 1Co 16:19. In Ephesus he had ‘many adversaries’ (1Co 16:9). If Timothy shared this great affliction, either it took place before he started for Corinth, or he had returned to the Apostle before the latter left Ephesus.

κοθʼ ὑπερβολὴν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἐβαρήθημεν. Some teachers and leaders insist upon their glories and successes; St Paul insists rather on his sufferings (12:5, 9, 10). Whatever this θλίψις may have been, he hints that it was far worse than what the Corinthians had to endure. He says that he (and Timothy?) ‘were weighed down exceedingly beyond our power.’ Does καθʼ ὑπερβολήν qualify ὑπὲρ δύναμιν or ἐβαρήθημεν? Our English is as amphibolous as the Greek. The placing of ὑπὲρ δυν after ἐβαρήθημεν (E K L) is an attempt to decide the point. Only once in LXX does καθʼ ὑπερβολήν occur, in one of the latest books (4 Macc. 3:18), and there of acute physical suffering, τὰς τῶν σωμάτων ἀλγηδόνας καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν οὔσας. St Paul has it five times (4:17; 1Co 12:31; Gal 1:13; Rom 7:13), all in this group of Epistles.

ὥστε ἐξαπορηθῆναι ἡμᾶς και τοῦ ζῇν. ‘So that we were utterly without way of escape, were utterly at a loss, were quite in despair, even of life’ (4:8 only; in LXX, Ps. 87:16 only). This is the right meaning, which is preserved in the Old Latin, ut de vita haesitaremus (Tert. De Res. Carn. 48), and by Jerome (on Eph 3:13), ita ut desperaremus nos etiam vivere. But Vulg. supports the less probable meaning, that he did not wish to live any longer, ut taederet nos etiam vivere. We have a braver strain in 4:8 and in Php 4:3. St Paul has many moods, and he has no wish to conceal from the Corinthians how profoundly great trouble had depressed him. On τοῦ, see J. H. Moulton, pp. 217, 200.

ὑπὲρ τῆς (B K L M) is more likely to be original than περὶ τῆς (א A C D E F G P 17); περί is the usual constr. after ἀγνοεῖν (1Co 12:1; 1Th 4:13), and hence the change here. Cf. 8:23, 12:8; 2Th 2:1; Rom 9:27. א3 D2 and 3 E K L Syrr. Copt. ins. ἠμῖν after γενομένης, א* A B C D* F G M P 17, Latt. Arm. omit. ὑπὲρ δύναμιν before ἐβαρήθημεν (א A B C M P 17) rather than παρὰ δίν after ἐβαρ (D F G).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

We would not have you ignorant. See on Rom 1:13.

Came to us in Asia. Rev., better, befell. The nature of the trouble is uncertain. The following words seem to indicate inward distress rather than trouble from without, such as he experienced at Ephesus.

Were pressed out of measure [καθ υπερβολην εβαρηθημεν] . Rev., better, were weighed down, thus giving the etymological force of the verb, from barov burden. For out of measure, Rev, exceedingly; see on 1Co 2:1.

We despaired [εξαπορηθηναι] . Only here and ch. 4 8. From ejx out and out, and ajporew to be without a way of escape. See on did many things, Mr 6:20.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.