2 Corinthians 7:9

7:9-10 Two kinds of sorrow are mentioned: (1) Worldly sorrow that lacks repentance leads to spiritual death (e.g., see Matt 27:3-6; Heb 12:16-17). (2) Sorrow that leads us away from sin leads to salvation, as it did when the church in Corinth responded positively to Paul’s rebuke.

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

2Co 7:9. Νῦν χαίρω, I now rejoice) The now forms an epitasis;[38] not only do I not repent, that you had brief sorrow, but I even rejoice, because it has proved salutary to you.—εἰς μετάνοιαν, unto repentance) Unto here determines the kind of sorrow.—κατὰ Θεὸν, [after a godly manner] according to God) according to here signifies the feeling of the mind, having regard to and following God. There is no sorrow with God; but the sorrow of penitents renders the mind conformable to God; comp. κατὰ, according to, Rom 14:22; Col 2:8; 1Pe 4:6. So in Philostr. in Heroicis, p. 665, κατὰ θεὸν ἥκω, I am come here under divine auspices.—ἐν μηδενὶ, in nothing) This is consonant with that feeling, under which the apostle also speaks, 2Co 11:9, ἐν πάντι, in everything.—ζημιωθη̄τε, ye might suffer loss or damage) All sorrow which is not according to God, is damaging, and deadly, 2Co 7:10.

[38] i.e. He had already said, I rejoiced, in 2Co 7:7 : and here in 2Co 7:9, now, added to the same word I rejoice, augments its force. See Append.—ED.

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

2Co_7:9. Νῦν χαίρω] see on 2Co_7:8. To take the νῦν not in a temporal, but in a causal sense (proinde, jam vero, with Emmerling and Billroth), is quite at variance with the context, because the thought is implied in the previous clause: I no longer regret i.

οὐχ ὅτι ἐλυπ.] not regarding the sadness caused to you in itself.

κατὰ θεόν] according to God, i.e. in a way in keeping with the divine will. See on Rom_8:27. Bengel aptly remarks: Secundum hic significat sensum animi Deum spectantis et sequentis. Not: by Gods operation, which (in opposition to Hofmann) Paul never expresses by κατά (nor yet is it so even in 1Pe_4:6); with the Greeks, however, κατὰ θεόν means according to divine disposal.

ἵνα ἐν μηδενὶ ζημιωθ. ἐξ ἡμῶν] not: ita ut, etc. (so Rückert), but the divinely-ordained aim of the previous ἐλυπήθητε κατὰ θεόν: in order that ye in no point (comp. 2Co_6:3; Php_1:28; Jam_1:4), in no sort of way (not even in the way of severe, saddening reproof), should have hurt (injury as to the Messianic salvation) from us, from whom, in fact, only the furtherance of your true welfare ought to proceed. See 2Co_7:10. According to Osiander, ἐν μηδενί means: in no part of the Christian life (neither in the joyfulness of faith nor in purity of morals). At variance with the context: for to the matters negatived by ἐν μηδενί must belong the λύπη itself caused by him, which, had it not occurred κατὰ θεόν, would have injured the σωτηρία of the readers (2Co_7:10).

The clause of purpose is to be connected with the ἐλυπ. γ. κατὰ θεόν immediately preceding, which is no parenthetic remark, but is the regulative thought controlling what follows (in 2Co_7:10-11); wherefore ἵνα κ.τ.λ. is not, with Hofmann, to be attached to ἐλυπ. εἰς μετάνοιαν.

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 7:9 . νῦν χαίρω κ . τ . λ .: now, sc. , now that Titus is come, and I have learnt the effect of my letter, I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance (of which there was no sign when he wrote; see 1Co 5:2 ), for ye were made sorry according to the will of God, sc. , in God’s way as contrasted with man’s way ( cf. 1Co 15:32 and see reff.), so that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing, i.e. , the sorrow caused by my rebuke was divinely ordered for your good, so that my severity did not hurt but rather benefited you. The word μετάνοια occurs curiously seldom in St. Paul (see reff.), perhaps because it indicates the very first step in the religious life, that “change of mind” as to God which precedes even the renunciation of sin (see esp. for this use reff., Acts and Mat 3:2 ; Mat 4:17 , Act 2:38 , etc.), and this first step his correspondents had already taken, or his letters to them would not have been written.

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

Insomuch that that sorrow did you much good toward the amending of your lewdness and sins.

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

Now I rejoice--Whereas "I did repent" or regret having made you sorry by my letter, I rejoice NOW, not that ye were caused sorrow, but that your sorrow resulted in your repentance.

ye sorrowed--rather, as before, "ye were made sorry."

after a godly manner--literally, "according to God," that is, your sorrow having regard to God, and rendering your mind conformable to God (Rom 14:22; Pe1 4:6).

that--Translate in Greek order, "to the end that (compare Co2 11:9) ye might in nothing receive damage from us," which ye would have received, had your sorrow been other than that "after a godly manner" (Co2 7:10).

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 9. Ye sorrowed to repentance] Ye had such a sorrow as produced a complete change of mind and conduct. We see that a man may sorrow, and yet not repent.

Made sorry after a godly manner] It was not a sorrow because ye were found out, and thus solemnly reprehended, but a sorrow because ye had sinned against God, and which consideration caused you to grieve more than the apprehension of any punishment.

Damage by us in nothing.] Your repentance prevented that exercise of my apostolic duty, which would have consigned your bodies to destruction, that your souls might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

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

9. Not because you have been made sorry. He means, that he feels no pleasure whatever in their sorrow — nay more, had he his choice, he would endeavor to promote equally their welfare and their joy, by the same means; but that as he could not do otherwise, their welfare was of so much importance in his view, that he rejoiced that they had been made sorry unto repentance. For there are instances of physicians, who are, indeed, in other respects good and faithful, but are at the same time harsh, and do not spare their patients. Paul declares, that he is not of such a disposition as to employ harsh cures, when not constrained by necessity. As, however, it had turned out well, that he had made trial of that kind of cure, he congratulates himself on his success. He makes use of a similar form of expression in 2 Corinthians 5:4,

We in this tabernacle groan, being burdened, because we are desirous not to be unclothed, but clothed upon.

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.

(9) That ye sorrowed to repentance.—Here the true word for “repentance” is used in all the fulness of its meaning. (See Notes on Mat_3:2; Mat_3:8.) There is nothing in the Greek corresponding to the variation “ye sorrowed” and “were made sorry,” the same word being used in both clauses.

After a godly manner.—The English is but a feeble equivalent for the Greek. Literally, according to God—i.e. (as may be seen by comparing the sense of the same or like phrases in Rom_8:27; Eph_4:24; Col_2:8), after His will and purpose. “God allowed you,” he tells them, “to be grieved in order that you might sustain no loss, as you might have done had we held our peace.”

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

9. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry] Another instance of the tender consideration of St Paul (see note on 2Co_7:3). He will not run the risk of being supposed, even for a moment, to have taken pleasure in others’ pain.

repentance] It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that the Greek word translated repentance (penaunce, Wiclif and the Rhemish Version) contains neither the idea of sorrow nor of penitential discipline. The word means change of mind or purpose. Sorrow may or may not accompany it. In most cases, as in this, it will do so. But the essence of Gospel repentance is not the sorrow it produces, but the change it works. The word translated repent in 2Co_7:8 is a different word, and has precisely the meaning usually in our days attached to the word repentance. It, or its cognate verb, only occurs here and in Mat_21:29; Mat_21:32; Mat_27:3, and Heb_7:21. It is a misfortune that the A. V. has employed the same word to express two very different ideas.

after a godly manner] The original is stronger, according to God, i.e. in such a manner as He had commanded or would approve. Cf. Rom_8:27.

receive damage] The word signifies to suffer injury or loss. See Mat_16:26, where it is translated lose; Luk_9:25, where it is translated cast away. See also 1Co_3:15. Wiclif renders here suffer pairement; Tyndale, ye were hurte; the Rhemish, well, suffer detriment.

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.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry,.... Their grief and sorrow, as a natural passion, was no matter or cause of joy to him; nor was this what he sought after, being what he could take no real pleasure in; for so far as that was a pain to them, it was a pain to him:

but that ye sorrowed to repentance; their sorrow issued in true evangelical repentance, and this was the ground of his rejoicing; for as there is joy in heaven among the angels, at the repentance of a sinner, so there is joy in the church below, among the saints and ministers of the Gospel, when either sinners are brought in, or backsliders returned by repentance:

for ye were made sorry after a godly sort; what gave him so much joy and satisfaction was, that their sorrow was of the right sort; it was a godly sorrow, they sorrowed after; or according to God, according to the will of God, and for sin, as it was committed against him; it was a sorrow that God wrought in them:

that ye might receive damage by us in nothing; what added to his pleasure was, that his writing to them, and the effect it produced, had not been in the least detrimental to them; things had worked so kindly, and this sorrow had wrought in such a manner, that they were not hurt in their souls, but profited; nor in their church state, they had not lost one member by it; nay, the offender himself, which was the occasion of all this trouble, was recovered and restored by these means.

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

9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

Ver. 9. That ye sorrowed to repentance] Gr. εις μετανοιαν, to a transmentation, to a thorough change both of the mind and manners. Optima et aptissima poenitentia est nova vita, The best and most appropiate repentance is a new life, saith Luther. Which saying (though condemned by Pope Leo X) is certainly an excellent saying. Repentance for sin is nothing worth without repentance from sin. If thou repent with a contradiction (saith Tertullian) God will pardon thee with a contradiction. Thou repentest, and yet continuest in thy sin. God will pardon thee, and yet send thee to hell. There is a pardon with a contradiction.

Sorry after a godly manner] Gr. η κατα θεον λυπη, according to God. This is a sorrowing for sin, as it is offensivum Dei, aversivum a Deo. offensive to God and a turning away from God. This both comes from God and drives a man to God, as it did the Church in the Canticles, and the prodigal.

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.

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry ... - I have no pleasure in giving pain to anyone, or in witnessing the distress of any. When people are brought to repentance under the preaching of the gospel, the ministers of the gospel do not find pleasure in their grief as such. They are not desirous of making people unhappy by calling them to repentance, and they have no pleasure in the deep distress of mind which is often produced by their preaching, in itself considered. It is only because such sorrow is an indication of their return to God, and will be followed by happiness and by the fruits of good living, that they find any pleasure in it, or that they seek to produce it.

But that ye sorrowed to repentance - It was not mere grief; it was not sorrow producing melancholy, gloom, or despair; it was not sorrow which led you to be angry at him who had reproved you for your errors - as is sometimes the case with the sorrow that is produced by reproof; but it was sorrow that led to a change and reformation. It was sorrow that was followed by a putting away of the evil for the existence of which there had been occasion to reprove you. The word rendered here as “repentance” (μετάνοιαν metanoian) is a different word from that which, in 2Co 7:8, is rendered “I did repent,” and indicates a different state of mind. It properly means a change of mind or purpose; compare Heb 12:7. It denotes a change for the better; a change of mind that is durable and productive in its consequences; a change which amounts to a permanent reformation; see Campbell’s Diss. ut supra. The sense here is, that it produced a change, a reformation. It was such sorrow for their sin as to lead them to reform and to put away the evils which had existed among them. It was this fact, and not that they had been made sorry, that led Paul to rejoice.

After a godly manner - Margin, “according to God;” see the note on the next verse.

That ye might receive damage by us in nothing - The Greek word rendered “receive damage” (ζημιωθῆτε zēmiōthēte) means properly to bring loss upon anyone; to receive loss or detriment; see the note on 1Co 3:15; compare Phi 3:8. The sense here seems to be, “So that on the whole no real injury was done you in any respect by me. You were indeed put to pain and grief by my reproof. You sorrowed. But it has done you no injury on the whole. It has been a benefit to you. If you had not reformed, if you had been pained without putting away the sins for which the reproof was administered, if it had been mere grief without any proper fruit, you might have said that you would have suffered a loss of happiness, or you might have given me occasion to inflict severer discipline. But now you are gainers in happiness by all the sorrow which I have caused.” Sinners are gainers in happiness in the end by all the pain of repentance produced by the preaching of the gospel. No man suffers loss by being told of his faults if he repents; and people are under the highest obligations to those faithful ministers and other friends who tell them of their errors, and who are the means of bringing them to true repentance.

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

Now I rejoice, &c. I should have been inconsolable, had my letter made you sad, without producing the salutary effect intended by it; but I now rejoice that it caused a sorrow and sadness productive of the great advantages you have reaped from it. Thus in every sentence St. Paul shews the solicitude of a father, seeking nothing but the advancement of his spiritual children. (Calmet)

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).

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: the apostle takes all advantages to insinuate himself into the good opinion and affections of the members of this famous church, and to obviate any misrepresentations of him to them from those false teachers that were crept in amongst them. Lest they should take some advantage from his saying, that he repented not that he had made them sorry, he here openeth himself, and tells them, he did not rejoice in their sorrow, but in the blessed product and effect of it; which was their reformation of those abuses and errors which he had reproved them for, the effect of which reproof was this their sorrow for a little season. And that they

were made sorry after a godly manner; they did but sow in tears, they reaped in joy; they had a wet seed time, but a fair harvest. They sorrowed with a sorrow according to God; the cause of their sorrow was their sin, the root of it a love to God, the manner of it such as was agreeable to the will of God.

That ye might receive damage by us in nothing; the wise God so governing things hy his providence, that nothing which the apostle spake or wrote should prove detrimental, but rather advantageous; to this church which he so loved.

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

9. To repentance—Over their sorrow alone he could not rejoice: but over a sorrow merging into repentance he could rejoice.

Sorry after a godly manner—Literally, sorry according to God. A sorrow that has reference to God in contradistinction from a sorrow that regards the world.

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

Not that ye were made sorry. They might have drawn this mistaken conclusion from his remark that he "rejoiced" when he heard of their "lamentation" (ver. 7). After a godly sort; literally, according to God; i.e. in a way which he would approve. (Rom_8:27) In nothing. Not even when we rebuked you, and caused you pain.

Vers. 9-11.

Two kinds of sorrow.

Reproof works well when it induces sorrow toward God and issues in repentance. But of sorrow there are two kinds.

I THE SORROW OF THE WORLD.

1. Its nature. It is regret for worldly loss, or, if for faults and sins, it is for them as bringing worldly discredit. It is vexation, not for wrong done, so much as for damage incurred, credit spoilt, advantage missed, pride wounded.

2. Its issues. It works death. It wears the mind, sours the temper, fills the breast with discontent, takes away all zest of exertion, chokes the heart with resentment and chagrin. It actually kills; a rankling annoyance or shame tends both to embitter and to shorten life. There are more than is commonly believed dying of vexation; as Spenser has it

Dying each day with inward wounds of Dolour"s dart.

II SORROW ACCORDING TO GOD.

1. Its nature. It springs from a sense of sin in the light of God, and in relation to his Name, Law, and glory. It is the grief of a mind that has learnt to honour, observe, and follow the Lord, and therefore mourns for sin as committed against heaven and in his sight. See the sorrow of the world in King Saul, who, when he was reproved by the prophet, admitted, "I have sinned;" but immediately added this request to Samuel, "Yet honour me now." See the sorrow according to God in King David, who, when he was reproved by a prophet, said. "I have sinned against Jehovah," and then prayed the fifty-first psalm, saying, "Hide thy face from my sins.

2. Its result. It works "repentance to salvation," otherwise described as "repentance toward God" and "repentance unto life." The sorrow does not exhaust itself in emotion, but induces a change of mind, a turning from sin to God, and so from death to life. And such repentance will never be regretted. St. Paul had regretted his first letter, but now did not regret it, since he learned the good effect it had produced. A minister of Christ may have to speak sharply to men about their sins. He may have to regret that he evaded such duty or spoke smooth things, but not that he brought trouble to the consciences of sinners or godly sorrow to their hearts. And many a hearer of the Word may have to grieve that he was deaf to reproof, but none that he listened to it and mourned for his sin. No one will ever regret that he repented toward God.

3. Its further issues and evidences. The moral earnestness which was connected with sorrow according to and repentance toward God showed itself thus at Corinth. "What carefulness it wrought in you!" What diligence! Blessed is the reproof, healthy is the sorrow, which puts a stop to trifling, and makes us face the reality and feel the seriousness of living in God"s sight. We must not then excuse our faults or count them unavoidable, but set about the correction of them with all diligence. "Yea, what a clearing of yourselves!" What solicitude to be right with God! "Yea, what indignation!" What lively abhorrence of evil! "Yea, what fear! yea, what longing desire!" What anxiety to satisfy the apostle, or any servant of God who has brought our sins home to our conscience, that we are and mean to be what he would approve! Thus the effect of godly sorrow is to make the heart tender and affectionate as well as pure. "Yea, what zeal" in reformation! "Yea, what revenge!" What holy severity against sin! When a sinner, charged with his offences against God, stands on his defence, he is fertile in excuses. The sin was a little one; or the motive was not bad; or the provocation or temptation was great; or the circumstances almost compelled him; or he did it without thought; or he did as others do. But when he is convinced of the Holy Ghost and moved with godly sorrow, he has no plea, and does not wish to have any excuse pleaded for him. He wants rather to have revenge upon his sin, and abhors himself on account of it, repenting in dust and ashes. There is no peace for his conscience but in the sin-purging blood of Jesus Christ. When the believer (and this rather than the other is the case which this text suggests) is reproved for grave inconsistency, moral earnestness is roused within him. Not that he is bound to accept the strictures and rebukes of ill-natured and censorious persons who call it Faithfulness to find fault freely with their neighbours. But let a righteous man smite him, and he takes it as an excellent oil. As his fault is shown to his conscience, he scorns to excuse it. He breaks off the sin by righteousness, and that with a sort of sacred indignation, not against the reprover, but against the thing reproved. Indeed, a sorrow God-ward for one fault works a repentance for all sin. As Gurnal says, One spot occasions the whole garment to be washed. A careful man, when he findeth it rain in at one place, sends forth the workmen to look over all the roof. So should the discovery of one fault lead to a general renewal of self-examination and repentance; and sorrow for one sin should rend the heart for all sins. F.

Vers. 9, 10.

Godly sorrow; or, the sorrow that is after the will of God.

Reference is to the distress which the more spiritual members of the Corinthian Church felt on the receipt of St. Paul"s first letter. He had written severely, and, after sending his letter, almost regretted that he had expressed himself so strongly; but he now felt thankful to hoar that they had so well responded to his appeals, and sorrowed unto repentance and putting away of the evil in a manner that would be so certainly approved by God. "The series of emotional words in ver. 11 represent the apostle"s estimate of what he had heard from Titus. There was

(1) earnestness where there had been indifference to evil, and even approval of it; (1Co_5:2) and this was shown

(2) in the vindication of their conduct which they had sent through Titus; and

(3) in their stern "indignation" against the offender;

(4) in their fear, partly of the supernatural chastisement which St. Paul had threatened, partly of the judgment of God which was against such things;

(5) in the longing to have him once more among them, which mingled with their fear;

(6) in their new zeal for the law of purity;

(7) in their actual vengeance, i.e. their sentence of condemnation passed upon the offender." "The apostle rejoiced, not that the Corinthians sorrowed, but that they sorrowed unto repentance. Sorrow has two results it may end in spiritual life or in spiritual death; and in themselves one ofthese is as natural as the other. Sorrow may produce two kinds of reformation: a transient or a permanent one; an alteration in habits, which, originating in emotion, will last so long as that emotion continues, and then, after a few fruitless efforts, be given up; a repentance which will be repented of; or again, a permanent change which will be reversed by no after thought a repentance not to be repented of." Beza says, "The "sorrow of the world" is the certain way to desperation, unless God prevent it, as appears from the horrid examples of Cain, Saul, Ahithophel, and Judas; but the written tears of David give the clearest example of the other kind of sorrow.

I THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN REMORSE AND REPENTANCE. The word "remorse" has in it the figure of "biting back," and it means going over our sins in thought, with a keen gnawing regret at having done them, but without any softened feelings such as belong to the penitent. Remorse is exactly that "sorrow of the world" which worketh death. Repentance is that humble, regretful spirit which sets a man ready to receive and to value the Divine forgiveness.

II THE TESTS OF GENUINE REPENTANCE IN THE INDIVIDUAL. They are:

Mental distress.

Humility and self-abasement.

Confession without attempt at excuses.

Earnest seeking of Divine forgiveness.

Resolute putting away of the evil.

Keen watchfulness over the circumstances that involve temptation to the sin.

And an attitude of simple and unquestioning obedience to the will ofGod, and submission to whatever judgments on the sin it may please him to appoint. "Sorrow has done its work when it deters from evil. In the sorrow of the world the obliquity of the heart towards evil is not cured; it seems as if nothing cured it; heartache and trials come in vain; the history of life at last is what it was at first. Sorrow avails only when the past is converted into experience, and from failure lessons are learned which never are to be forgotten.

III THE TESTS OF GENUINE REPENTANCE IN A CHURCH. These more especially are dealt with in the passage before us. Bengel says that the six results mentioned by the apostle fall into pairs. The first two relate to their feelings towards themselves, the next to their feelings towards the apostle, the last to their feelings towards the offender and his offence. The tests we notice are

(1) clearings, earnest efforts to put away the wrong, and to show that they had no complicity in it, and would make no excuses for it;

(2) anxiety for each other, that the membership may be quite purified, and no brother cherish even a secret sympathy with the wrong;

(3) discipline on the wrong doer, by at least a temporary removal of him from the Church fellowship. The penitence of a Church will also find expression in united acts of confession and humiliation, and in prayer for Divine forgiveness and restoration. Perhaps much too little is made in these days of the united acts of the corporate Church life. There is a befitting Church penitence, a proper godly sorrow of a community, when, by any evil of its members, such a community has become defiled. 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.

Paul’s rejoicing over the result of his measures:

v. 9. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly manner that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

v. 10. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

v. 11. For, behold, this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, ye a, what clearing of yourselves, ye a, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, ye a, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

v. 12. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.

The apostle here develops his second thought more fully, that he was exceeding joyful in spite of all tribulation, v. 4. He had shaken off the uneasiness which he had felt on account of his tenderness for them, and openly stated that he now rejoiced, not on account of the fact of their having been made sorry, for the case required such severe measures, but on account of the fact of their grief’s having led them to repentance. When Paul wrote his letter, there had been no sign of a change of heart on their part, and the danger was that they might have become stubborn. But now that they have accepted the rebuke and repented, lie sees his desire fulfilled, his object attained, and can therefore sap: For you were made sorry according to God, in the manner which God wants to see in the sinner and which He Himself works, so that you might suffer damage from us in nothing. Far from being affected to their hurt, the Corinthian Christians rather had reason for congratulating themselves on account of the benefit which had come to them as a result of the apostle’s measures. Sorrow and grief, in this case, is in itself a blessing, and the entire process is salutary. Mark that it is God that works repentance, and that His aim is the conversion and therefore also the salvation of the sinner.

This thought is brought out in the next verse, where a reason is assigned for this statement: For the sorrow which is according to God, which is wrought by God, which feels grief on account of sin as an offense against God, works out a repentance unto salvation not to be repented of. True sorrow over sins does not exist on account of the apprehension of punishment, but is essentially a feeling of misery and dejectedness on account of the insult which was offered to God by the transgression. Such a repentance sets the sinner on the way to salvation, since such a sinner will he prepared to receive the message of redemption. Therefore this proper repentance brings no regrets. The sorrow of the world, on the other hand, pictures to the eyes of the horrified sinner the terrible consequence:’ of his transgression in the matter of temporal and eternal punishments. When this feeling comes upon the sinner, there is nothing but the blackness of death and destruction before him: he is led to despair, as we see in the case of Cain, and still more in that of Judas. "And lest repentance or the terrors of the Law turn into despair, the preaching of the Gospel must be added, that it may be a repentance unto salvation."

The Corinthians themselves offer an example of the value of godly sorrow: For behold this same thing, your being made sorry after a godly sort. Their own case was an excellent illustration of the point which the apostle was trying to make: What diligence it worked in you; how quickly their previous inactivity and slothfulness had given way to activity, especially as to the case of the discipline then in hand! And not only so, but also defense; how they had hurried to clear themselves of the fault found in their midst, to justify themselves before Titus, and thus before the apostle! What indignation; how angry they were at themselves for having ignored and tolerated this matter in their midst for so long a time! What fear; how they had dreaded the coming of the apostle with a rod, 1Co 4:21! What longing desire; how they had felt the need of him and of his apostolic counsel as soon as they had realized their condition! What zeal; how jealous they had become on behalf of God and His honor in their congregation! What avenging, or, infliction of punishment; how they had hastened to make good their wrong by inflicting upon the offender the punishment demanded by Paul! Thus had the Corinthians given evidence of the godliness of their sorrow; thus had they given proof, approved themselves to be pure in this matter, by clearing themselves from the guilt of this affair.

But the very fact that they had acted so promptly upon all his suggestions, that his admonitions had brought forth such rich fruits in their midst, would cause the Corinthians also to acknowledge the loving purpose of the writer: Accordingly, although I wrote to you, I did it not for his sake that did the wrong, nor for his sake that suffered the wrong, but in order that your zeal in our behalf might be made manifest to yourselves before God. The sin to which Paul referred had indeed been one of abominable wickedness, the son living with his stepmother in a relation permitted only in marriage, and that, apparently, while his father was still living! But though Paul also had in mind the putting away of the sin of the one and the repairing of the injury done to the other, his chief reason for writing was to stimulate the Corinthian congregation to a realization of what was due to its founder, the apostle, and to its Lord. He had not been wrong in his estimate of them; the discipline employed by them had strengthened the feeling of fellowship among themselves and had bound them more closely to the apostle. They had vindicated themselves in their own eyes and in his. And it had not been a vain, empty form, a mere pretense, since their deliberations and resolutions had taken place in the sight, in the presence, of God. Note: This last point should be remembered in all cases of church discipline.

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

I now rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye were made sorry unto repentance; for ye were made sorry after a godly sort, that ye might suffer loss by us in nothing . [In his first epistle to the Corinthians Paul had sternly rebuked them. Though recognizing that the rebuke was well deserved, the apostle regretted that he had written so sternly and uncompromisingly, fearing lest his letter might not work the results which he wished, for speaking what is right does not always lead to happy results ( Joh_6:60-68 ). His words were calculated to cause them the sorrow of vexation or hurt vanity, or the sorrow of mortified pride, etc. But when he learned from Titus that it had caused them to sorrow as being culpable in the sight of God, and so caused them to repent as he desired, the apostle was glad that he had written as he had, for they hall lost nothing by reason of his timidity or tenderheartedness. He had made them sorry but for a season, and could now make them glad by this second epistle which contained the consolation of his approval.]

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.

9. Now I rejoice. Not because they were made sorry, but that their sorrow brought repentance. Observe, (1) that regret is not repentance; (2) that sorrow is not repentance; (3) that godly sorrow (verse 10) works repentance, or, in other words, repentance results from godly sorrow, or sorrowing in a way pleasing to God.

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.

9. νῦν χαίρω. The νῦν is in emphatic contrast to μετεμελόμην. Yet his joy is not the result of their pain, but of the good effect of their pain, viz. their repentance.

κατὰ θεόν. ‘According to God’ means ‘according to the will of God’ (Rom 8:27); as God would have you sorry, ‘in God’s way.’

ἵνα ἐν μηδενὶ ζημιωθῆτε ἐξ ἡμῶν That in nothing ye might suffer loss (1Co 3:15; Luk 9:25) at our hands (Joh 6:65); nostra negligentia. Etsi pœnitert, eo quod vos nimium increpassem, tamen vester me facit non pœnitere profectus (Primasius). This was God’s will, that they should be helped towards salvation by the Apostle’s severity, not towards eternal loss by his silence.

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.

9.] νῦν, emphatic, as distinguishing χαίρω from μετεμελόμην: now that I know not only of your grief, but of its being grief which worked repentance.

κατὰ θεόν] as E. V., after a godly sort: ‘with reference to God,’ see ref. Rom. and note: “secundum, hic significat sensum animi Deum spectantis et sequentis,” Bengel. αὕτη γὰρ ἡ καλὴ λύπη, ὡς τό γε κατʼ ἄνθρωπον λυπεῖσθαι κακόν. Œcum. Cf. κατὰ ἄνθρωπον, 1Co 15:32.

ἵνα, κ.τ.λ.] in order that ye might in nothing be damaged by us: not ἐκβατικῶς, so that ye did not …, as many Commentators:—the divine purpose of their grief is indicated; ‘God so brought it about, in order that your grief occasioned by me might have, not an injurious, but a beneficial effect.’

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

9. ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἐλυπήθητε εἰς μετάνοιαν. With much delicacy, he makes them rather than himself the cause of his present happiness. It was not his letter, the writing of which was no pleasure to him, but their way of receiving it, which produced so much joy. He claims no credit for it.

ἐλυπήθητε γὰρ κατὰ Θεόν. ‘For you were made sorrowful in God’s way’; i.e. as God would have you sorrowful; not “owing to the grace of God,’ ‘thanks to His help.’ Cf. Rom 8:27; Rom_4 Macc. 15:2. ‘God’s way’ is opposed to man’s way and the devil’s way.

ἵνα ἐν μηδενὶ ζημιωθῆτε ἐξ ἡμῶν. Such was God’s intention; ‘that in nothing ye might suffer loss (1Co 3:15; Luk 9:25) at our hands.’ If he had not urged them to change their course, that would have been great loss to them and great blame to him. God did not will either his negligence or their loss. It is unnatural to make ἵνα depend upon ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἐλ. εἰς μενάνοιαν.*

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

Repentance [μετανοιαν] . See on the kindred verb repent, Mt 3:2, and compare on Mt 21:29. Repentance is different from regret of ver. 8, indicating a moral change, as is shown by the next clause. Ye might receive damage [ζημιωθητε] . Rev., might suffer loss. See on Mt 16:26; Luk 9:25. This somewhat obscure sentence means that the salutary moral results of the apostle 's letter compensated for the sorrow which it caused. The epistle which won them to repentance was no damage to them.

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