2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1
Paul’s Vindication of His Conduct and Life. 2 Cor. 1, 12–24.
God Himself Paul’s witness:V.23. Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. V.24. not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand.
The situation being such, however, the apostle could now bring out his most solemn asseveration: But I invoke God as a witness against my soul. As he had appealed to the faithfulness of God above, v.18, he here goes a step farther. If what he now says is untrue, may God appear as a witness against his soul, to its condemnation by His righteous sentence.
This solemn oath was in this instance justifiable, because Paul’s credit as an apostle had been called into question, and with this was essentially connected the honor of Christ, who had sent him, and the cause of God, which he represented at Corinth. It was not a matter of levity or fickleness on account of which he had not come to Corinth as planned, but he gave up the thought of coming in order to spare them.
He had hoped that his first letter would restore the Corinthian Christians to the proper relation with him, and that it would not become necessary for him to come with the rod, 1 Cor. 4, 21. Far from being the outflow of a selfish disposition, therefore, his treatment of the Corinthians in not revisiting them was a manifestation of his indulgent love.
And lest this statement be again misconstrued as though he presumed upon rights over them which he did not possess, he adds, in a parenthetical form: Not that we are lords over your faith; it is not a part of his apostolic office to control their faith, their religious life, their relation to the Christian truth. But we are fellow-workers of your joy; it was his greatest delight to be able to serve them in bringing into their hearts the joy of faith.
For by your faith you stand; that Paul gladly concedes to them. If in this respect they were submitting themselves to the authority of another, it would be impossible for them to show such uniform steadfastness.
Note that the apostle speaks in a general way whenever he refers to the Christian character of his readers, always assuming, for the sake of charity, that his statement holds true of them all.