What Paul is saying is clear, but defilement of the flesh is to be interpreted in a complex way. Notice that he did not say from defilement of the flesh but from every defilement of the flesh in order to encourage us to flee from all carnal vices—everything which the law prohibits—so that we might perfect holiness of the Spirit in the fear of God. We do this by pursuing the things which are right in the fear of God and which are therefore holy, abstaining from sins in the name of Christ. People who restrain themselves from vices without professing Christ may seem to be set apart according to the world but not according to the Spirit of God. Only those who believe are made clean. Others, whatever they may be like, remain unclean.

Here we are instructed to marvel at the unspeakable benevolence of God in Christ Jesus and with the greater fear to cleanse ourselves of every defilement of the flesh and the spirit.

Not touching unclean things is not enough to make us clean. Something else is needed for us to become holy—earnestness in faith, heedfulness and piety.

Paul uses the word spirit in this verse to mean soul.

Paul wants the Corinthians to give thought to what he is saying, so that when they have taken it to heart they may conclude that what he is saying is true.

Paul expresses himself in this negative way in order to make his point more sharply. He does not mention all the good he has done but merely challenges the Corinthians to come up with any way he has wronged them, which of course they could not do.

Paul wants them to realize in what frame of mind he is speaking to them. He is certainly not rejecting people whom he wants to have as sharers with him, but he is exhorting them to make themselves worthy of this sharing.

Paul mentions both dying and living, in order to preserve the right balance. For there are a lot of people who will sympathize with others in their misfortunes, but when things turn out well for them they become jealous and do not rejoice on their behalf. Not so the faithful, who are not wounded by envy.

Paul is confident because of the way the Corinthians responded to his reproof in the first letter. The fact that they did not take it badly has given him the confidence to admonish them again. He also says that he has been consoled by this to such an extent that in spite of all his affliction he is overflowing with joy. Seeing that there is hope for the people on whose behalf he is enduring hardships, he is rejoicing in spite of his tribulations, being certain that he will please God for the fact that they have received salvation.

Some might think that these expressions of praise contradict the admonitions which have gone before. But this is not so, for they help the rebukes to be more acceptable by putting them in the wider context of Paul’s great love for the Corinthians.

It is because the flesh is irrational that Paul says that it has no rest from its suffering. But the soul, although it was suffering in the body, did have rest. This is because of the hope that God would reward them for the tribulations inflicted on them by unbelievers. Fightings were inflicted on the body, and fears attacked the soul, but Paul was not at all afflicted in the Spirit, who was given to him so that he might endure such things.

Paul had to contend with the opposition of unbelievers without and of weak-kneed believers within.

Paul had to do battle not only with external foes but also with enemies within the fellowship of the church. He was afraid that believers would be turned away to harmful things.

It is always a great comfort, when we are suffering, to have someone near us who can share it with us.

Paul always makes a great thing of the coming of Titus, because he wants the Corinthians to hold him in honor and respect. There is nothing more guaranteed to cement a friendship than to help someone know how they have been helpful.

Paul showed what great affection he had for them. He paid no mind to the stench of the dungeon, nor of the pain of the lashes, nor of the rope with which his feet were bound. But when he heard that the Corinthians had amended their ways he rejoiced, and forgetting his sufferings, thanked God for their salvation, viewing it as a kind of reward for his troubles.

Paul was consoled by the good news from Corinth, which shows how much he loved the people there.

Paul behaves toward the Corinthians as a parent does toward little children, soothing them after they have been through a painful experience.

Moreover, even sorrow, the emotion for which, the Stoics claim, there can be found in the soul of a wise man no corresponding attitude, is a word used in a good sense, especially in Christian writings. The apostle, for example, praises the Corinthians because they were sorrowful according to God. Of course, someone may object that the apostle congratulated the Corinthians because their sorrow led them to repentance and that such sorrow can be experienced only by those who have sinned. What he says is this: Seeing that the same letter did for a while make you sorry, now I am glad; not because you were made sorry but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you were made sorry according to God, that you might suffer no loss at our hands. For the sorrow that is according to God produces repentance that surely tends to salvation, whereas the sorrow that is according to the world produces death. For behold this very fact that you were made sorry according to God, what earnestness it has wrought in you.

Like a father who watches his son being operated on, Paul rejoices not for the pain being inflicted but for the cure which is the ultimate result. He had no desire to cause harm for its own sake.

Hence Paul teaches us that that kind of sorrow is of value which has not this world but God as its end. It is right, he says, that you become sorrowful, so as to feel repentance in the face of God. . . . Take note of those who in the Old Testament were sorrowful in the midst of their bodily labors and who attained grace, while those who found delight in such pleasures continued to be punished. Hence the Hebrews, who groaned in the works of Egypt,^[1] attained the grace of the just and those who ate bread with mourning and fear were supplied with spiritual good.^[2]

Godly grief brings about the death of worldliness. When the sinner is found out he is grieved because he is bound to be punished, not having anyone from whom he may expect mercy. Perhaps for the moment there may be nobody who can exact retribution from him, but he knows he will not be able to escape the judgment of God.

Paul was regretful before he saw the fruit of repentance, but afterward he rejoiced. This is the nature of godly sorrow. Worldly sorrow, in contrast to this, is regret for the loss of money, reputation and friends. That kind of sorrow merely leads to greater harm, because the regret is often a prelude to a thirst for revenge. Only sorrow for sin is really profitable.

And, in another passage, he says: The sorrow that is according to God produces repentance that tends to salvation of which one does not repent. He who is sad according to God is sad in repentance for his sins; sorrow because of one’s own iniquity produces justice. First, let what you are displease you so that you may be able to be what you are not. The sadness that is according to God produces repentance that tends to salvation of which one does not repent. He says: repentance that tends to salvation. What sort of salvation? That of which one does not repent. What does that mean? One of which you do not repent at any time. For we have had a life of which we ought to have repented; we have had a life calculated to inspire repentance. But we cannot come to that life of which one does not repent except through repentance for an evil life. Will you, my brothers, as I had begun to say, ever find dung in a sifted mass of wheat? Nevertheless, the wheat arrives at that luster, at that fine and beautiful appearance, by means of dung; the foulness was the path to a beautiful result.

Therefore, my brothers, as I have said before, a suitable place for dung helps to produce fruit, but an unsuitable place leads to uncleanness. Someone or other has said, I have come upon this sad person; I see the dung; I examine the place. Tell me, my friend, why are you sad? He says: I have lost my money. The place is unclean; there is no fruit. Let him hear the apostle: The sorrow that is according to the world produces death. I have looked at still another person groaning, weeping and praying; I recognize the dung and I examine the place. Moreover, I have directed my ear to this man’s prayer, and I have heard him say: O Lord, be thou merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.^[1] He laments his sin; I recognize the field; I look for fruit. Thanks be to God! The dung is in a good place; it is not useless there; it produces fruit. This is truly the time of fruitful sorrow, so that we may lament the state of our mortality, the abundance of temptations, the stealthy attacks of sinners, the clash of desires, the conflicts of passions ever rebelling against good thoughts. On this account let us grieve; let us be sad because of this state of affairs.

However, I marvel how God, who from the beginning gave humanity pain, which came from sin, abolishes his decision with one resolution and expels the judgment with the sentence. And hear how. Sin produced pain, and through pain sin is annihilated. Pay attention carefully. God threatens the woman. He brings upon her the punishment for her disobedience, and he tells her: You shall bring forth children in pain.^[1] And he showed pain as the harvest of sin. However, oh, how munificent he is! That which he gave for punishment he changed to salvation. Sin gave birth to pain; pain destroys sin. Just as a worm that is born by a tree consumes the very same tree, likewise pain, which is born by sin, kills sin when it is supplied by repentance. For this reason Paul says: Godly pain produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret. Pain is good for those who repent sincerely; the sorrow, matching the sin, suits those who sin. . . . Mourn for the sin so you may not lament for the punishment. Apologize to the judge before you come to the court. Or do you not know that all who want to sin flatter the judge, not when the case is being tried but before they enter the court, or through friends, or through guardians, or through another way they coax the judge? The same with God: you cannot persuade the Judge during the time of the tribunal. It is possible for you to plead with the Judge before the time of judgment.

Someone who repents is troubled by the fear that he might sin again. But a person who knows that he has been deformed by sin longs to reform himself. One who knows that he is being rebuked for his own good begins to experience a zeal for bringing good works to completion.

One who provokes godly grief in us is our benefactor.

Paul is making it clear that forgiveness ought to be granted to those who did wrong not only for their sake but for the sake of the church, because when one does wrong many suffer.

Paul has been comforted by the fact that those whom he rebuked wished to mend their ways. But on learning from Titus that they were experiencing pain on account of their error, he was consoled even more and filled with joy, because their resolve had been confirmed by their behavior.

It is high praise when a teacher boasts that his pupils have not put him to shame. Paul even adds that after he had boasted about the Corinthians to Titus they had not let him down.

Paul is saying that Titus’s mind and affection are concerned with them, because he has seen their progress, for the mind of a saint is concerned with everything that is good.

This shows that Titus was grateful to his benefactors and also gives the Corinthians even greater honor in that they were able to make such a deep impression on him.

Paul is glad not only because of their good resolve but because of the good actions by which they were correcting their former sinful practices. This is why he has perfect confidence in them.