2 Corinthians 2:4

Anguish. Gr. sunochē, “distress,” “anguish,” literally, “a holding together,” that is, a tenseness. The thought is that the heart seems to be under great pressure, and that the pressure produces grief.

I wrote. See on v. 3.

Many tears. Paul had administered stern reproof and discipline, not in anger but in sorrow. Christ wept as He yearned for His people (Matt. 23:37, 38). Reproof intended to win back the erring must never be done in harshness or with an overbearing attitude, but with great tenderness and compassion. Paul possessed boundless courage in the face of danger, persecution, and death, but he wept when compelled to censure his brethren in Christ (see Acts 20:31; Phil. 3:18).

Successful dealing with sinners is not achieved by bitter denunciation, by ridicule or sarcasm, by making public their sins. What these harsh weapons cannot accomplish may be done by affectionate concern, with “many tears.” The unfortunate spectacle of a church member falling into sin awakens anguish and distress in the mind of every true follower of Christ. Godly concern and Christlike love unite the church and prevent differences of opinion concerning those disciplined.

The ministry needs men who will not palliate or excuse sin, nor shrink from rebuking evil (cf. Eze. 9:4). They are men who, while dealing courageously with evil in the church, are constrained by the love of Christ (2 Cor. 5:14). They are, in a special sense, repairers of the “breach” and restorers of “paths to dwell in” (Isa. 58:12; see Heb. 13:7, 17). It is never a demonstration of love to pass by sin. Sometimes love must needs be severe. Love in the church does not mean the display of pity and long-suffering toward obdurate members at the expense of the integrity of the church or the safety of other members. To consider love as something always necessarily flaccid is to identify it with weakness, lack of initiative, forcefulness, and courage. The minister’s love for his people means more than a feeling of tender emotion for them, it means also a continuous attitude of concern for their well-being, joy in their spiritual growth, sadness over their sins, strong leadership, and firm, unyielding courage when the enemy of souls seeks to scatter the flock. Paul, as a minister of the everlasting gospel, was prepared to go through any amount of suffering, even to the sacrifice of life itself, for the salvation of others. There was nothing weak or effeminate about his love. Neither Jesus nor Paul invest love with sickly sentimentality. Both continually reveal the capacity for noble and difficult accomplishments and strength to overcome the devil in whatever guise he may appear to attack the church. See on Matt. 5:43, 44.

Know the love. Paul’s purpose in writing was not to cause sorrow, but to express, if possible, the ardent love that guided the apostle in all his relations with them (see on ch. 5:14). If they could first realize that all he said was spoken in love they would be able the better to profit by it.