2 Corinthians 7:6

Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) God, that comforteth those that are cast down.—The fact of his own experience seems almost to present itself to his thoughts as constituting an attribute of the divine character. In the word for “cast down” (lowly) we may, perhaps, trace an allusion to the same word used of him by others as a disparaging epithet. (See Note on 2Corinthians 10:1.)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:5-11 There were fightings without, or continual contentions with, and opposition from Jews and Gentiles; and there were fears within, and great concern for such as had embraced the Christian faith. But God comforts those who are cast down. We should look above and beyond all means and instruments, to God, as the author of all the consolation and good we enjoy. Sorrow according to the will of God, tending to the glory of God, and wrought by the Spirit of God, renders the heart humble, contrite, submissive, disposed to mortify every sin, and to walk in newness of life. And this repentance is connected with saving faith in Christ, and an interest in his atonement. There is a great difference between this sorrow of a godly sort, and the sorrow of the world. The happy fruits of true repentance are mentioned. Where the heart is changed, the life and actions will be changed. It wrought indignation at sin, at themselves, at the tempter and his instruments. It wrought a fear of watchfulness, and a cautious fear of sin. It wrought desire to be reconciled with God. It wrought zeal for duty, and against sin. It wrought revenge against sin and their own folly, by endeavours to make satisfaction for injuries done thereby. Deep humility before God, hatred of all sin, with faith in Christ, a new heart and a new life, make repentance unto salvation. May the Lord bestow it on every one of us.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

God that comforteth those that are cast down - Whose characteristic is, that be gives consolation to those who are anxious and depressed. All his consolation was in God; and by whatever instrumentality comfort was administered, he regarded and acknowledged God as the author; see the note, 2 Corinthians 1:4.

By the coming of Titus - To Macedonia. He rejoiced not only in again seeing him, but especially in the intelligence which he brought respecting the success of his Epistle, and the conduct of the church at Corinth.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. Translate in the order required by the Greek, "But he that comforteth those that are cast down, even God." Those that are of an high spirit are not susceptible of such comfort.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

God, that comforteth those that are cast down: it is observable, how careful the apostle is to ascribe all the supports and reliefs of his spirit unto God. Nor is this notion, or name, of God unuseful to any that fear him, who through any casualties or contingences of this life shall happen to be cast down. It advantageth our faith in prayer, in any such straits, to consider God as having taken to himself the name of him that comforteth those that are cast down.

Comforted us by the coming of Titus: it is only the coming of Titus, his fellow labourer, and one dear to him, that he mentioneth in this verse, as the means of his support and relief; yet he entitleth God to his comfort under his dejection. God comforteth his people variously, sometimes by his good word, sometimes by his providence; be what will the instrumental cause, God is the principal efficient.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Nevertheless, God that comforteth those that are cast down,.... Or "humble ones": such as are humbled under the afflicting hand of God, and have low and mean apprehensions of themselves; these God looks unto, dwells with, revives their hearts, cheers their drooping spirits, and fills them with comforts; he has been used to do so with such persons; he has raised comfort to them; they may expect it, and the apostle experienced it; and which he refers to God as the author of it, as he had done in the beginning of this epistle, calling him "the God of all comfort"; he was the efficient cause, the means by which it was effected was the coming of Titus:

comforted us by the coming of Titus; to whom the apostle bore a very great affection, he being his son in a spiritual sense, a companion with him in his travels, and of great usefulness and service in the ministration of the Gospel; so that the very sight of him gave him pleasure; and the more, inasmuch as he had for some time longed to see him, that he might have some account from him of the affairs of this church.

Geneva Study Bible

Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are {d} cast down, comforted us by the {e} coming of Titus;

(d) Whose hearts are cast down, and are very much worn out.

(e) With those things which Titus told me of you at his coming, that is, how fruitfully you read over my letters. And moreover and besides that, I am exceedingly refreshed with his presence.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

2 Corinthians 7:6-7. Τοὺς ταπεινούς] the lowly, i.e. the bowed down. This ὁ παρακαλῶν τοὺς ταπεινούς is a general designation of God, significant in its practical bearing (comp. 2 Corinthians 1:3), so that the suffering ἡμεῖς (in παρεκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς) belong to the category of the ταπεινοί.

ὁ θεός] is brought in later by way of attraction, because ὁ παρακαλῶν … παρεκάλεσεν ἡμᾶς were the chief conceptions. Comp. Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. iv. 3. 1.

ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ] through the arrival.

Τίτου] See Introd. § 1.

οὐ μόνον δὲ κ.τ.λ.] A delicate form of transition. Not merely through his arrival, not only through the reunion with him did God comfort us, but also through the comfort, wherewith he was comforted in regard to you (1 Thessalonians 3:7) while he announced to us, etc. When Titus informed us of your desire, etc., this information had so soothing an effect on himself that we too were soothed. Comp. Ewald. The usual view, that Paul meant to say: through the comfort which he brought to me, for he related to me, etc., and thus wrote with logical inaccuracy, is as arbitrary as Hofmann’s way of escaping the difficulty—for which he adduces erroneously 1 Thessalonians 3:10—that it must have run properly (?) in the form of παρακληθεὶς ἀνήγγειλεν. Certainly Titus had himself been comforted by what he saw in Corinth; but psychologically it was most natural that this “being comforted” on the part of Titus should be repeated and renewed by his communicating to Paul and Timothy his cheering observations and experiences, and so they too were comforted with the comfort which was afforded to Titus himself by the report which he was able to give. This interpretation—in which there is thus not to be assumed any blending of the comfort which Titus had felt in perceiving the improved state of matters at Corinth, and then in communicating it (Osiander)—is neither unnatural (Hofmann) nor turning on punctilious reflection (de Wette), but founded necessarily on the words, which Paul has not written otherwise, just because he has not conceived them otherwis.

ἐπιπόθησιν] longing, namely, to see me again among yo.

ὀδυρμόν] lamentation, for having saddened me so by the disorders tolerated in your church, especially in reference to the incestuous person. Comp. 2 Corinthians 7:11-12.

τὸν ὑμῶν ζῆλου ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ] your eager interest for me, to soothe me, to obey me, etc. There was no need to repeat the article here after ζῆλον, since we may say ζηλοῦν or ζῆλον ἔχειν ὑπέρ τινος (Colossians 4:13), in which case ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ is blended so as to form one idea with ζῆλον. Comp. on Galatians 3:26 and Fritzschior. Opusc. p. 245.

ὥστε με μᾶλλον χαρῆναι] so that I was all the more glad. The emphasis is on μἀλλον (magis in Vulgate); on its meaning, all the more, comp. Nägelsbach on the Iliad, p. 227, ed. 3. The apostle’s joy was made all the greater by the information longed for and received, since from it he learned how, in consequence of his letter, the Corinthians had on their part now met him with so much longing, pain, and zeal. Observe in this the emphatic prefixing, thrice repeated, of the ὑμῶν, which gives the key to this μᾶλλον χαρῆναι. The former Epistle had had its effect. He had previously had for them longing, pain, zeal; now, on their part, such longing, etc., had set in for him. Thus the position of things had happily changed on the part of the church, which before was so indifferent, and in part even worse, in its mood towards Paul. Billroth, following Bengel, takes it: so that I rather rejoiced, i.e. so that my former pain was not merely taken away, but was changed into joy. Comp. also Hofmann.[258] In this case μᾶλλον would be potius. But the very prefixing of the μᾶλλον, and still more the similarity of 2 Corinthians 7:13, are against this.

Theophylact, we may add, has rightly remarked that Paul could with truth write as he does in this passage, inasmuch as he wisely leaves to the readers the distingue personas.

[258] Who finds the meaning to be: “that with the apostle for his own person the comfort, which he shared with Timothy, rose into joy.” In that case ἐμέ at least must have been used instead of the enclitic με. The transition to the first person singular is caused simply by the fact, that Paul now has in view the rebuke and injunction of the former Epistle, chap. 5.

Expositor's Greek Testament

2 Corinthians 7:6. ἀλλʼ ὁ παρακαλῶν κ.τ.λ.: but He that comforteth the lowly (see ref. Isa.), even God (to whom he is especially careful in this Epistle to trace up all grace and consolation), comforted us by the coming of Titus. παρουσία is often used for the Advent of Christ, but also (see reff.) for the advent of St. Paul or his companions. This is the first explicit mention of St. Paul’s meeting with Titus in Macedonia (but cf. 2 Corinthians 2:13) which was the occasion of the letter being written.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

6. those that are cast down] The word ταπεινὸς, says Dean Stanley, never (except in metaphors in the N.T.) has the meaning of ‘humble,’ but only acquired such a meaning in later times to express the Christian grace of humility. It occurs in Matthew 11:29; Luke 1:52; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5. In Romans 7:16 and in James 1:9 it is translated men of low degree, or estate. See also note on ch. 2 Corinthians 10:1. The substantive formed from it is translated humility and humbleness of mind, save in Php 2:3, where we have lowliness of mind; while the verb is used in Luke 3:5 of the hills being made low, and in Php 2:8 of what is called the ‘humiliation’ of Christ.

by the coming of Titus] “ ‘By the coming and presence of Titus,’ as in the frequent use of the word to describe the Advent of Christ.” Stanley. See Matthew 24:3; 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:19; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, &c.

Bengel's Gnomen

2 Corinthians 7:6. Τοὺς ταπεινοὺς, the humble [them that are cast down]) for those that are exalted and puffed up, do not receive [are not capable of] comfort.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Who comforteth those that are cast down. "The Comforter of the humble comforted us, even God." The word "humble" has in classical Greek the sense of "mean," "abject." Pride, not humility, was the virtue even of Stoic morality. Christ was the first to reveal the beatitude of lowliness (Matthew 11:29; Luke 1:52). Doubtless the word still retained some of its old associations, and had been used of St. Paul in a disparaging sense (2 Corinthians 10:1). But he whom his opponents accused of so much egotism, ambition, and arrogance, meekly accepts the term and applies it to himself. God (2 Corinthians 1:4). "The God... of consolation" (Romans 15:5). By the coming of Titus. This was the cause of that outburst of joy in 2 Corinthians 2:13, 14, which passage here finds its explanation. The absence of Titus from the Acts is another proof of the fragmentariness of that book. It is evident that he was an ardent, able, active fellow worker, and most beloved friend of the apostle (Galatians 2:1, 3; 2 Timothy 4:10; Titus 1:4; Titus 3:12). We learn most about him from this Epistle. 2 Corinthians 7:6

Vincent's Word Studies

God

The Rev. improves on the A.V. by putting God in its emphatic place at the end of the clause. "He that comforteth," etc. - "even God."

Those that are cast down (τοὺς ταπεινοὺς)

Rev., the lowly. See on Matthew 11:29. Here the A.V. is more nearly true to the idea, which is that of depression through circumstances, rather than of lowliness of character. The neater rendering would be the downcast.