What did Titus’s arrival and report mean for Paul?

Atlas of Saints · Chapter summary

Titus brought comfort and reports of mourning and zeal; Paul distinguishes sorrow unto penance from worldly sorrow and states his care and confidence.

Chapter breakdown

Having the promises, Paul exhorts cleansing flesh and spirit and perfecting sanctification in God’s fear. He asks reception, saying they injured, corrupted and overreached no one; financial exploitation or corrupted faith is not separately specified. He does not condemn, recalling readers in their hearts to live and die together. He has great confidence, glorying, comfort and joy in tribulation.

In Macedonia the flesh had no rest, with combats outside and fears inside. God comforting the humble consoled them through Titus’s arrival and his comfort from readers, reporting their desire, mourning and zeal for Paul. No medical exhaustion diagnosis, envoy dispatch or identities of combatants are supplied. Paul says although the letter saddened them he does not repent, and if he did repent it caused sorrow for a time. The conditional if should not become a definite report of his temporary remorse.

He is glad not at sorrow itself but sorrow unto penance according to God, so they might suffer no damage from him. Godly sorrow works penance steadfast unto salvation, worldly sorrow death. No wounded-pride, temporal-loss or despair psychological definition is given here. The sorrow produced carefulness, defence, indignation, fear, desire, zeal and revenge; they showed themselves undefiled in the matter. Revenge is the printed word and no particular corrective action is narrated.

He wrote not for wrongdoer or injured party but to manifest his care for readers. This should not be changed to a foreign wording about their mutual loyalty. They were comforted before God and rejoiced more at Titus’s joy and refreshed spirit. Paul’s boasting to Titus was not shamed but found true. Titus’s affection increased recalling their obedience and receiving him with fear and trembling. Paul rejoices in confidence in all things. These reported effects are not a universal guarantee that every disciplinary letter produces restoration or a report of how the unnamed matter was procedurally settled.

The story inside

Conditional remorse remains conditional. No psychological definition of worldly sorrow, named combatants, procedural settlement or general correction guarantee is invented.

Lessons worth keeping

1
Titus’s arrival and report both comforted Paul.
2
The source says if he did repent.
3
Paul identifies manifesting his care as his writing purpose.

Test your recall

What stated purpose replaces focus on wrongdoer and injured party?

Source edition and notes

Douay–Rheims, revised by Richard Challoner (1749–1752). Project Gutenberg no. 1581. Locators refer to lines in the admitted pg1581.txt edition. Source notes may include Challoner commentary.

Lines 131242–131247
7:1. Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God. 7:2. Receive us. We have injured no man: we have corrupted no man: we have overreached no man.
Lines 131256–131264
7:5. For also, when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest: but we suffered all tribulation. Combats without: fears within. 7:6. But God, who comforteth the humble, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 7:7. And not by his coming only, but also by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, relating to us your desire, your mourning, your zeal for me: so that I rejoiced the more.
Lines 131270–131280
7:9. Now I am glad: not because you were made sorrowful, but because you were made sorrowful unto penance. For you were made sorrowful according to God, that you might suffer damage by us in nothing. 7:10. For the sorrow that is according to God worketh penance, steadfast unto salvation: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 7:11. For behold this selfsame thing, that you were made sorrowful according to God, how great carefulness it worketh in you: yea defence, yea indignation, yea fear, yea desire, yea zeal, yea revenge. In all things you have shewed yourselves to be undefiled in the matter.
Lines 131286–131297
7:13. Before God: therefore we were comforted. But in our consolation we did the more abundantly rejoice for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. 7:14. And if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I have not been put to shame: but as we have spoken all things to you in truth, so also our boasting that was made to Titus is found a truth. 7:15. And his bowels are more abundantly towards you: remembering the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. 7:16. I rejoice that in all things I have confidence in you.