Let's Stay Together
- Paul knows that the Corinthians and he are going to make things right again.
- He asks them to open up their hearts to him and his friends.
- He also throws in a little fatherly love: "I often boast about you; I have great pride in you." Paul, you're making the Corinthians blush.
The Tearful Letter
- Now, Paul starts to reminiscence about the previous letter he sent to the Corinthians. The one he cried while writing. What can we say?
- He's a sensitive man.
- Paul tells them that when he and Timothy went to Macedonia to see Titus and get the news about how people reacted to the letter in Corinth, they were really nervous. Would the Corinthians be angry? Would they reject him? Or would they finally do something about that naughty Offending Brother who caused all this mess in the first place?
- But when Titus told them that things were going better in Corinth—that they liked Paul, they really liked him!—he was thrilled.
- Paul tells them that he's sorry that his letter hurt them… but not really. Yes, he's sorry the letter made them upset, but it also got them to act, and that's what's most important, right?
- See, they felt the good kind of upset. The kind that makes a person want to stop being so stubborn and just agree with Paul already.
- You know. That kind.
- But Paul didn't write to them before just to call out the Offending Brother. Nope.
- He wrote to the Corinthians so that they could all patch things up between them. And they did. Paul tells them that Titus was super happy when he saw how obedient the Corinthians were to Paul. This is why he brags about Corinth all the time. Nice job, guys.