2 Corinthians 7:1-4 meaning

In 2 Corinthians 7:1-4, Paul transitions to discuss the results of God’s promises. Chapter 7 begins with Therefore, having these promises. In the previous chapters, Paul mentions a number of promises. This includes the promise that each believer is a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) and the promise that affliction endured by believers as faithful witnesses to Christ will be rewarded with an “eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17).

But the most immediate promises Paul is likely referring to are at the end of Chapter 6. The original writings and manuscripts of the New Testament were written without punctuation, chapter divisions, and numbered verses. These things were added to make the New Testament more accessible. At the end of Chapter 6, Paul noted a number of promises from God:

• “we are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:16; just as God said),
• That God said: “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE” (2 Corinthians 6:16).
• Further, that God said, “‘And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,’ Says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18).

In 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul asserted “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE.” He now makes a similar assertion, saying:

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (v. 1).

The way to receive the promised blessings of God and to walk in full fellowship with God is to live in holiness in the fear of God. Believers live in holiness in the fear of God by striving to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit. That this holiness comes about through our striving (cleanse ourselves), we know this is not speaking of being born again. Being born again into God’s family requires only sufficient faith to look on Jesus, hoping to be delivered from the poisonous venom of sin (John 3:14-15).

Believers are placed into God’s family through the merit of Christ on the Cross, not through our own actions (Ephesians 2:8-9). Then once believers are placed into God’s family, we are given great responsibility as stewards. Each believer receives spiritual gifts but it is left to them to decide whether to use them (Romans 12:6). Each believer is given a set of good works which God prepared beforehand, but it is left to each believer to decide whether to walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

In his last epistle, Paul will exhort his apprentice, Timothy, to finish strong as a faithful witness who does not fear rejection, loss, or death. He exhorts Timothy to be a faithful witness and endure (2 Timothy 2:1-7). He asserts that anyone who endures as a faithful witness “will also reign with Him” (2 Timothy 2:12). This is undoubtedly a part of the “eternal weight of glory” Paul mentions that God promises to believers who endure difficulties and remain as faithful witnesses.

This great reward, this incredible inheritance, is possessed by walking faithfully in holiness to God. As Paul asserted in his first letter, it is impossible for believers to fathom the immense reward God has in store for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). To love God is to obey His commandments (John 14:15).

The opposite of enduring difficulty as faithful witnesses and perfecting holiness in the fear of God is found in 2 Corinthians 6:1. There Paul said “we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain.” The way to perfect holiness is to live in a manner that is faithful to the commands of God. The way to “receive the grace of God in vain” is to hear the words of God and then not follow them.

To the extent that believers in Christ and possessors of the gift of eternal life do not walk in obedience to God’s word, those believers will not inherit the great rewards God promises for those who live as faithful witnesses. Accordingly, the word of God does not benefit them; it is “in vain.”

Before Paul proceeds to admonish his readers to be cleansed from sin and live in holiness and fear of God, he adds the word beloved. He has, throughout this letter, continually declared his love for the Corinthians, and now he uses the endearing term, “agapetoi,” which would continue to reinforce his affection and love for the believers in Corinth.

Just as Jesus chastises those whom He loves, so does Paul exhort those whom he loves (Hebrews 12:6, Revelation 3:19). If we love someone we will tell them what is true and exhort them to make choices that are life-giving rather than self-destructive.

The phrase Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit is in reference to 2 Corinthians 6:16, “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?”

The worship of idols largely consists of paying bribes to spiritual deities to provide moral justification to exploit others and/or indulge our appetites. To follow a path of exploiting others leads to the fruit of the flesh, which is to “bite and devour one another” (Galatians 5:15).

In stark contrast, to walk in the Spirit leads to fulfilling the Law of God, which manifests in loving others (Galatians 5:14, 22). It is overly obvious that a group of people who love and seek the best for one another will create a harmonious, productive, and constructive group. The alternative is an exploitative “crabs in a bucket” culture.

This is the current reward—what sort of culture we help create by our actions—either an exploitative or harmonious and caring culture. God also promises a future reward. As Paul previously asserted, everyone will stand before the judgment of Christ to receive rewards for the deeds they did, whether good (loving others) or bad (exploiting others) (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Paul desires the best for his spiritual children. That is why he admonishes them. He wants them to have good rewards—life-giving consequences for their choices. He wants them to avoid self-destructive choices. They are his beloved.

In the previous chapter, Paul quoted Isaiah 52:11 when the Lord says “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate” as well as “And do not touch what is unclean.”

These are choices for each believer to make, whether to be of the world, walking in the flesh, or to walk in the Spirit, walking in faith that God’s rewards are superior to the rewards offered by the world (Hebrews 11:6).

The Greek word translated cleanse in the phrase let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit is “katharizo.” We get our English word “cauterize” from this word, which means to burn a wound in order to cleanse or cure, as in burning off a wart. To burn a wart is painful, but it cleanses us from having to live with ongoing pain and/or annoyance. In a similar manner, Paul exhorts believers to burn away sin and self-seeking.

As believers who are in Christ, we have been born of the Spirit (John 3:6). Being born is a gift that is given. Life is a gift we gain apart from any action, plan, or choice; babies do not contribute to their own birth. Once born, however, a child has choices. Choices have consequences. It is the same for spiritual birth.

As John describes in his epistle, as we walk in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses our sin (1 John 1:7). This indicates that if we “katharizo” what we know, Jesus covers over what we don’t know. When we become aware of sin, our opportunity is to confess that sin, to repent and turn from it. When we do this we are forgiven and cleansed, and our fellowship with God is restored (1 John 1:9).

Neither confessing nor repenting are easy. They are both painful, like burning away a wart. However, it is this cleansing of ourselves from all defilement of flesh that allows us to be perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Such cleansing directs us away from defilement of flesh and spirit, and allows the perfecting, the completing in holiness to take place in our life. In the fear of God refers back to 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord.” We should be more concerned about what God thinks than what the world thinks. We should have greater fear of what will transpire at our judgment than any judgment we might receive here on earth.

“Katharizo” can also be used to describe God’s work in our hearts when He makes us a new creation in Christ. Peter asserted this in Acts 15:8-9 when he faced the Council in Jerusalem and explained how the Holy Spirit had come to the Gentiles, “cleansing [‘katharizo’] their hearts by faith.”

Jesus cleanses and gives us a new nature, making us a new creation in Him when we believe (2 Corinthians 5:17). But since we still live in a body with a fallen nature, each person has an ongoing choice whether to walk in that new nature (the Spirit) or continue to walk in the old nature (the flesh).

The process of striving to walk in the Spirit, putting to death our fleshly old nature, is the process of perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

The Greek word translated perfecting is “epiteleo.” The root word also appears in 2 Corinthians 8:6 where it is translated “complete” and 2 Corinthians 8:11 where it is translated “finish.” The idea is enduring until the end. Getting to the finish line. Finishing the race as a victor, as Paul described in his first letter (1 Corinthians 9:24). The tense perfecting indicates ongoing action. This is a daily endeavor, requiring constant endurance to keep running the race.

The way to win the race of life is to endure all the way to the end, striving to gain holiness in the fear of God. Fear is a core motivation for humans. The choice is not whether to fear. The choice is what to fear. We naturally fear rejection, loss, and pain. The admonition here is to put the fear of God above the fear of man.

We saw that in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, Paul reminded his children in the faith that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Paul asserted that living for this is living in the “fear of the Lord.” To live in a manner to be pleasing to God will typically cause us to be rejected by men (2 Timothy 3:12). Therefore, this can be looked at as a choice whether to care more about what men think of us, seeking their approval, or whether to care more about what God thinks about what we do, seeking His approval.

As Hebrews 11:6 tells us, what God approves is for us to walk in faith. God accepts unconditionally all who believe in Him. He accepts all who believe on Jesus as His children, birthing them into His forever family (John 3:6). God’s acceptance is given as a gift; we belong to Him regardless of what we do.

But approval only comes to believers when they make good choices that are life-giving rather than self-destructive. God does not approve of choices that lead to separation from His design for us (death). God promises to greatly reward us if we make choices that lead to life. If we believe His words, and care more about gaining His approval than gaining approval from others, then we are seeking holiness in the fear of God.

Paul now begins to point to his relationship to the Corinthian believers, Make room for us in your hearts (v. 2a). He is continuing the thought he began in 2 Corinthians 6:11, “our heart is opened wide” and then in 2 Corinthians 6:13 his admonition to “open wide to us also.”

He has declared openly in this letter of his love and affection for the Corinthians. Now he is calling on them to reciprocate.

We wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one (v. 2b).

We are not told, but it is inferred that Paul has been accused in these specific areas. This is also inferred later in this letter when he defends his apostleship (2 Corinthians 10:12, 11:5). Paul is obviously clearing the air of any uncertainty on the part of the Corinthians: We wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one.

The We in the phrase We wronged no one undoubtedly includes Paul. But it likely also includes Timothy who coauthored this letter (2 Corinthians 1:1) and Silvanus, also known as Silas (2 Corinthians 1:19). Wronged might refer to unjust treatment or perhaps general wrongdoing against another.

They have not corrupted the Word of God but have been faithful and true in what they taught and how they lived among the Corinthians. Paul uses the Greek word translated corrupted in 2 Corinthians 11:3 to refer to the corruption of the gospel leading away from “the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19).

This might be his thought in this passage, asserting that he has been true to the gospel and has not twisted it in any way in order to seek any sort of financial gain at the expense of others. Paul noted in 2 Corinthians 2:17 that there are, in fact, many who are “peddling the word of God” primarily for financial gain. He was clear in asserting that he was not among that number.

To take advantage would refer to exploitation, cheating, or defrauding. Again, we are not told explicitly whether Paul was accused of taking such advantage. However, when read together, 2 Corinthians 12:16-18, 8:6 and 8:22 indicate that there was at least some suspicion that Paul was seeking to raise money from the Corinthians in order to financially benefit himself. The truth was that he was seeking to raise an offering to help believers suffering persecution (2 Corinthians 9:12).

Paul went above and beyond to avoid even the appearance of financial self-dealing, sending Titus to collect the offering along with an unnamed honest brother who appears to have served as a trustee, in order to ensure the offering was used for the purpose stated (2 Corinthians 8:20-22). Paul asserts here that we took advantage of no one. He later argues that it is actually to the great advantage of the saints in Corinth to give generously because God loves cheerful givers and will greatly abound their generosity (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).

Paul comes back to the thought voiced in 2 Corinthians 6:11-13, that he openly seeks the best for the Corinthians. Here he says I do not speak to condemn you (v. 3a). Paul’s instruction does not seek to condemn them so they will come under his authority. Rather, he seeks for them to change their behavior for their own benefit. He seeks to lead them to turn away from self-destructive behavior and into life through living out the resurrection power of Jesus in their daily walk.

The consequence of choosing sin is to spoil a community and lead it to bite and devour one another (Galatians 5:13, 15). That creates separation from God’s design for us, which is death (Romans 6:23). When we sin we bring condemnation upon ourselves because we choose actions that have severe adverse consequences (Romans 1:24, 26, 28).

Therefore, when Paul chastises his children in the faith he is doing so out of love (Revelation 3:19). He does not speak to condemn the Corinthians. He seeks to bring them to a repentance that leads to life.

He continues to illuminate this idea that his corrective words are seeking to achieve their best interest, saying for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together (v. 3b).

The phrase to die together and to live together has two primary Greek words that are also found in Paul’s last letter, 2 Timothy, that might give us some insight into what Paul means here:

“It is a trustworthy statement:
For if we died with Him, we will also live with Him.”
(2 Timothy 2:11)

In 2 Timothy 2:11-13, Paul sets forth a chiasm that makes two points. The primary point is that if believers do not live faithfully they will not gain the immense reward of reigning with Christ in His kingdom (2 Timothy 2:12). This is paired with the secondary point reflected in 2 Timothy 2:11 and 13. 2 Timothy 2:13 asserts that even if believers are not faithful witnesses (“are faithless”) they are still God’s children, because He is always faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).

2 Timothy 2:13 is mirrored by 2 Timothy 2:11, which makes an unconditional statement that if we die with Jesus we will also live with Him. This speaks of dying with Christ by receiving the benefit of His death on the cross for our sins through faith. Anyone who believes in Jesus has His righteousness imputed to them by His grace (Romans 6:3-4, Ephesians 2:8-9).

It would fit the context to consider that in saying to the Corinthian believers you are in our hearts to die together and to live together, Paul is making the point that he is in Christ with them, by God’s grace. Since he died in Christ with them, he therefore has as his aim to live with them in the resurrection power of Christ. Paul is clear that before God all humans are equally sinful (Romans 3:9-10). Therefore, he has no position of moral superiority from which to condemn them. Rather, he is a fellow sinner saved by grace through the death of Jesus.

We can take from this that all who have believed on Jesus are in Christ together. Therefore, we ought to make it our aim to live together in harmony of purpose, seeking the best for one another. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul spoke of this at length using the metaphor of the body. Each believer is a member of the Body of Christ, and therefore ought to use their gifts to benefit the body by applying the things they do best for one another (1 Corinthians 12:1-7).

We can note that the mention of death (die together) is in the aorist tense, which includes an action that spans past, present, and future. However, life (live together) is in the present tense. This would further support the idea that Paul is alluding to their mutual past experience of having died with Christ making us a new creation in Christ forever (2 Corinthians 5:17). This new life we have in Christ through His death is permanent.

However, the life that believers are exhorted to live—to live in the resurrection power of Christ—requires an ongoing choice. And the only time that choice can be made is in the present. The death and resurrection life of the Lord Jesus was with Paul and is always with any believer a present reality (2 Corinthians 5:14-16). But each believer is left to make a choice each moment whether to live in the life-giving power of the Spirit or the death-giving power of the flesh.

To live as unto Christ and please Him was the motivating conviction of all that Paul did and was (2 Corinthians 5:7, 9). He desires to lead his children in the faith to live in the same way. He is sharing his heart with the Corinthians at the deepest level of care and love. That involved telling them the truth about what was in their true best interest. Apparently some took this as condemnation. But Paul’s goal was not to condemn but to bring them truth that leads to life-giving actions.

Paul further asserts that he has no intention to condemn the Corinthians, but rather has great confidence in them: Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting (v. 4a).

Paul had previously asserted confidence that his own motives were only to seek their benefit (2 Corinthians 1:12; 3:12). Now Paul asserts confidence in the Corinthians. In context, it would seem that Paul’s confidence would be that the Corinthians would hear, understand, and keep the words of truth he is giving them.

Paul’s confidence would then be that they would gain the great benefit he offers them for making good choices. We will see later in this chapter that his confidence in them was rewarded (2 Corinthians 7:14).

This is similar to the promise Jesus makes to His servants who are willing to read, understand, and do those things He exhorts them to do in Revelation (Revelation 1:3). Paul does not preach himself, but Christ (2 Corinthians 4:5). He is pointing the Corinthians to Christ, to follow Him in a manner that is pleasing to Him.

Throughout this letter, Paul asserts that the Corinthians will greatly benefit if they dedicate themselves to following God and His word rather than following the dictates and passions of men. Two notable examples follow:

• In 2 Corinthians 5:10-11, Paul notes that every believer will have their deeds judged by Jesus and receive appropriate rewards, depending on whether their deeds were good or bad;
• In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul asserts that suffering for Jesus will be rewarded with an “eternal weight of glory” that is produced within us.

Paul has confidence that is great that the Corinthians will live in obedience to Christ and follow in righteousness. It is inferred that the phrase great is my boasting refers to his boasting to others about the spiritual growth of the Corinthians, and his confidence that they will mature in Christ. It would follow that he expects them to listen to what is true and reject what is untrue.

As a result of this confidence that the Corinthians will live faithfully, Paul says I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction (v. 4b).

Paul and his companions are suffering affliction for the sake of the gospel. Later in this letter he will recount some of the suffering he has endured (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). That list is formidable. But in spite of these intense difficulties, Paul has comfort and is overflowing with joy.

The inference is that he is filled with joy and comfort because he has confidence that his efforts are not in vain. He is confident his efforts in the gospel are benefitting his spiritual children, including the Corinthians. Therefore, he considers his sufferings to be more than worth enduring.

His life experience of affliction and hardship will become a theme in the following thoughts in his letter.