6 - 8 Evidently the contentious man has recognized his error since receiving punishment (epitimia) which had been afflicted by the majority (pleionon) or many of the church members. The sinner's punishment has been sufficient (hikanon) or worthy; it has accomplished what the punishment was intended to do. Paul now admonishes the church to forgive (charisasthai) or pardon the contentious man and give him comfort (parakalesai) or consolation needed in order that he can be saved from overmuch (perissotera) or overwhelming sorrow. In other words, forgiveness and comfort should now replace censure, lest the sinner be drowned in his sorrow. Concerning forgiveness, Paul seems to practice what the Lord taught in Luke 17:3, 4 which reads, "Take heed to yourselves. If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." "True forgiveness neither excuses the sin nor ignores what happened. It means that you still relate to that person in spite of what happened but also in light of what happened. Forgiveness, however, does not require that the church reinstate the person into a position of authority again but does require his reinstatement into their fellowship" (Garland, p. 127).
Paul says in verse 8, I beg of you the confirm (kurosai), decree or ratify your love (agapen) or Godly love toward the repentant sinner; reaffirm your love for him. If the repentant sinner were a child of God, and he seems to have been regenerate, if he were not accepted back into the church he might be overcome with despondency. The punishment had accomplished what was intended, so now he should be received back into good fellowship. His sin had not broken his status as one of God's children, but he had been out of fellowship with Jehovah God and with the Lord's church.
The epistle of I Corinthians was written by Paul to correct some of the mistaken ideas of the congregation. Paul now feels that the epistle accomplished what he intended. The congregation has exercised their discipline, and it had been obedient to Paul's instructions. The church had proven (dokimen) by its obedience that the congregation wished to do the right thing. This word dokimen means that the church was a tried and approved congregation when they withdrew fellowship from the sinner; they had proven true by testing and had been obedient, or they gave ear to what Paul had instructed them to do.
10, 11 Since the sinner/sinners had repented and the church accepted him/them back in fellowship, Paul was willing to forgive as the church had done. He forgave because of the person of Christ; since Christ will forgive all sins that are confessed to Him, the children of God should forgive an erring brother or sister. Yeager says of this verse, "Here again Paul strikes a blow for local church autonomy and against hierarchical authority" (p. 287). When it is a recognized fact that Christ is Head over His churches, and He has the power and ability to judge those who are in the church geographical barriers are swept away. The sinner as well as the church can go directly to the Lord Jesus Christ and confess their sins and the error of their ways. God has promised to forgive sins whenever they are confessed to Him on the basis of the precious blood of His only begotten Son. "Paul is here reinforcing the solidarity between the apostle and the churches ('you forgive...I also forgive'). While recent circumstances have driven Paul and the Corinthians, Paul is seeking throughout this letter to bring about reconciliation and restoration between him and them" (Barnett, p. 130).
The action of the church was taken in order that Satan should not get the advantage (pleonektethomen), outwit or defraud the sinner. Satan is a crafty individual and with his devices (noemata) or designs he can damage the flock of God if he is permitted to do so. If fellowship had not been restored Satan might take advantage of the opportunity to drive a wedge of disharmony into the fellowship (Yeager, p. 288). It is interesting how many times in the epistle Paul refers to Satan as; "the god of this world (age)" (4:4); "Belial" (6:15); "the serpent" (11:3); and here, and in 11:14 and 12:7 as "Satan." In other epistles of Paul he calls him "the tempter" (I Thessalonians 3:5); "the devil" (Ephesians 4:27); "the wicked (evil) one" (Ephesians 6:16); and "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). The Apostle was definitely acquainted with the wiles of the Devil.
14 - 17 Paul writes in verse 14, "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph (thriambeuonti) or makes us a winner in Christ, and maketh manifest the savor (osmen) or odor of his knowledge by us in every place." "We can be grateful for this emotional outburst, Paul's rebound of joy on meeting Titus in Macedonia, for it has given the world the finest exposition of all sides of the Christian ministry in existence, one that reveals the wealth of Paul's nature and his mature grasp of the great things in service for Christ" (Robertson, p. 218). God knew who to place at the head of His victory parade - Paul the Apostle. "God is the One Who makes Paul a winner and Who uses him to spread the odor from the censer, carried in the parade, wherever Paul goes. The odor is the knowledge of Christ...The figure is that of the victory parade with Paul carrying the censer from which the odor exudes. Paul was always a winner, ever though not all who heard him preach were saved" (Yeager, p. 292). "The scene Paul portrays with this imagery is that of a victorious Roman general who leads his armies in a triumphal parade into the capital of the empire. The general parades the prisoners of war through the streets and exhibits them to all the spectators, while the sweet fragrance of burning spices fills the air. At the conclusion of the procession, these captives usually are executed as a tribute to the conquerors. For the victors, the fragrance is sweet; for the captives, the fragrance is the smell of death" (Kistemaker, p. 88).
"In one of the cities of Europe a gentleman had gone to a restaurant at the noon hour. After he had been there a while a half dozen working people came in. They sat down, had their lunch, and left. A little later the visitor was conscious of a very beautiful odor of perfume permeating the entire room. He asked the waitress about it. She said, 'These people who have been here are all workers from a perfume factory in the neighborhood. They bring the perfume with them.' Could we be that kind of a Christian? Well, that is the meaning of II Corinthians 2:14 (Sunday School Times, November 2, 1963, p. 16).
"For we are unto God a sweet savor (eodia), sweet smell or aroma of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish. To the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things." To those who are called of God the gospel smells sweet and refreshing, but to those who are not called the gospel smells rancid and deathly. Because the lost refuse God's gift of salvation through the Cross of Calvary they will not only die the physical death, but also the spiritual death which is separation from God eternally and ultimately they will be consigned to the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. Paul wrote in I Corinthians 1:18, "For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us who are saved it is the power of God."
Under the title of The Fragrance of Christian Life, R. Johnstone writes, "The life of every Christian should be like the fragrant breeze which, in tropical waters, tells the mariner, while still far out at sea, that the land from which it comes is a land of pleasant forests and gardens, where 'the spices flow forth.' It should testify, truthfully and clearly, of the sweetness and grace of heaven" (B. I., Volume XLIV, p. 62).
"For we are not as many which corrupt (kapeleuontes) or peddle the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ." The N. I. V. translates this verse, "For we are not, unlike many, peddling the word of God; however, we speak it before God in Christ as men of sincerity, as men (sent) from God." Paul preached the gospel in sincerity knowing that not all who heard his message would believe. He did not water down the gospel as the modern day television minister may do in order to gain a multitude of converts and an abundance of offerings. The peddler (kapelos) was like the traveling medicine man who sells snake oil, or the inn keeper or bar keeper who sells his product at an exorbitant profit. Paul's motives were born of sincerity (Yeager, pp. 296, 297). Paul and his associates were not guilty of watering down or diluting the Gospel as those during Isaiah's day (Isaiah 1:22b), "...thy wine (is) mixed with water..."
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