Предисловие

1. Inscription and greeting (2 Cor. 1:1, 2) 2 Cor. 1:1, 2. Paul, the messenger of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy brother, to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The inscription and greeting are ordinary; but there are some terms in them that raise questions and require clarification. Saint Paul had the need to confirm his apostolic dignity (last part); Meanwhile, he does not surround his name and person in the inscription with any special instructions, as he did, for example, in the letter to the Galatians, saying: “neither from man, nor by man” (Gal. 1:1). From this we must conclude that he did not give much weight to the evil speeches scattered about him; why the dignity of his apostleship was not particularly strengthened from the very beginning. In the first letter he included Sosthenes with him, here he brings Saint Timothy. Sosthenes probably returned with Saint Titus to Corinth and remained there. That Saint Timothy would not be in Corinth, Saint Titus told them about this; but they might still be wondering where he was. By putting his name to himself, the Apostle let them know that he was with him. This alone explained everything to them without any special additions about him. Saint Chrysostom, as usual, points out the moral side of this comparison, saying: “By placing Timothy with him, he gains greater respect, and shows deep humility in himself. For although Timothy was lower than the Apostle, love combines everything.” Theodoret adds: “But the Apostle did not place blessed Titus along with himself in the writings, because he appointed him to be their minister and sent this message with him.” The Apostle calls the Corinthian Christian society “Church,” meaning that it was fully organized in all parts, and had everything that should be in a Christian church. In this, he presented to them “an incentive to like-mindedness and unanimity” (Theodoret), “wishing to gather and unite them together: for otherwise there cannot be a Church where its constituents are divided among themselves and are at enmity with each other” (St. Chrysostom). “With all the saints who are in all Achaia.” “With these words the Apostle gives preference to the Corinthians when, through the letter written to them, he greets all others and together encourages the entire Church gathered from that language to peace and harmony. The name of saints shows that this greeting does not belong to the unclean” (St. Chrysostom); - “it does not belong to anyone who is earthly, earthly” (Ecumenius). But who does St. Paul mean by “these saints,” whether private individuals or entire Churches? – One must assume, entire Churches. For it is known that there was a Church in Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1); It is also likely that there was a Church in Athens, and perhaps in other places, near and far. Achaia embraced both Hellas proper and the Peloponnese. And what the Apostle said: “to all the saints,” and not to the churches, this is usual for him. For writing to the Ephesians, and to the Philippians, and to the Colossians, he said the same thing: to all the saints”; whereas in all those places there were fully established churches. But was this a general epistle, intended for all those churches that the Apostle designated with the word: “holy to all,” or was the epistle intended only for the Corinthians, and those were mentioned only as a greeting, only to encourage fraternal unity of all? Judging by the fact that the epistle contains features that relate exclusively to the Corinthians, one must assume that it was not a district epistle. But, as due to the then zeal for hearing and knowing the apostolic word, the message to one Church soon became the property of other Churches; then the letter to the Corinthians probably soon spread throughout all the Achaian Churches. Assuming that they encountered admonitions here that could apply directly to them, we will have to admit in them the belief that it was written for them. Saint Chrysostom believes that it can be called a message common to all, on the assumption that it healed illnesses common to all. In the words: “grace to you and peace,” one can understand by “grace” the entire integrity of spiritual life, and by peace the entire integrity of external well-being, that is, in addition to the peaceful union of believers among themselves, in addition to the peaceful course of their affairs, especially peaceful relationships with external ones, so that there is no persecution, oppression, deprivation, so that with external peace it is more convenient to succeed in an internal God-pleasing life. "From God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ". “He shows them the Lord and Benefactor” (Theodoret). This is a common word in all messages. But just as the Apostle does not get tired of remembering him every time, we should not be lazy to refresh our minds with this good thought that every good thing comes to us from God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, adding: in the Holy Spirit - from the Most Holy Trinity - the one and benevolent, and endlessly generous God. 2. The beginning of the message (2 Cor. 1:3–11) Saint Paul begins his epistle with an outpouring of grateful feelings to God for consoling him in the sorrows of all those who work in the gospel and delivering him from the recent mortal danger, nourishing the hope that He will not cease to deliver, with the assistance of this, by the way, the prayers of the faithful Corinthians (2 Cor. 1: 3-11). a) Sending thanks to God for consolation in sorrow, the Apostle certifies that God is doing this for the good of believers (2 Cor. 1:3-7), and b) nourishing the hope of future deliverance from troubles, he recognizes the prayers of the faithful as participants in the delivery of this good (2 Cor. 1:8-11). Here and here it expresses the closest union of those who work in the gospel with those who believe in it, under the influence of their gospel. a) God sends tribulations for the good of believers (2 Cor. 1:3–7) 2 Cor. 1:3, 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all joy, who comfort us in all our sorrow, as He is able to comfort us in all sorrow, with the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted from God. "Blessed be God!" How natural it was to appeal to Saint Paul in this way after God delivered him from “so much death in Asia” (2 Cor. 1:10, 8), and how he, who had no rest for his spirit in Troas (2 Cor. 2:13) and in Macedonia, experiencing “without war, within with fear,” was comforted by the coming of Titus (2 Cor. 7:5, 6)! Being completely devoted to God, he brought every situation with himself directly from God and saw His gracious right hand not only in consolations, but also in sorrows. “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” is used in the same meaning as the Lord Himself said after the resurrection: “I will ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17), that is, according to the economy of our salvation. “There is nothing new in these words. One and the same Christ, according to His humanity, He is God, and according to His Divinity, Father” (Theophylact). “The Father of generosity and the God of all joy” - God, whose essence consists in pouring out only generosity and consolation: for He “is of love” (1 John 4:16). So He arranged everything in existence and so builds everything in what happens, that, unless the creature leaves His will and His plans, it will always drink only consolations from the cup of God’s bounties. In the present order of things, even that which apparently brings sorrow is undoubtedly the work of God’s generosity and leads to consolation. The Apostle speaks, as it were, in these words: Father and God, “pouring bounties, exuding mercy and dealing with us with fatherly bounties” (Theodoret). Inspired writers usually call God not by one name, but by different names, borrowing these names from His infinite perfections, properties and actions. “Thus, Saint David does not call God the same everywhere and does not derive His names from the same properties; but when he talks about war and victory, he says: “I will love You, O Lord, my strength” (Ps. 17:2); when he remembered his deliverance from the sorrow and darkness that held his soul, he said: “The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior” (Ps. 27:1). Sometimes He borrows His name from His love for mankind, sometimes from His truth, sometimes from His impartial judgment, in accordance with the circumstances in which He found himself. – So here too, Saint Paul, at the beginning of his epistle, calls God from the point of view of His love for mankind: “Father of mercies, God of all joy.” That is: it is characteristic and akin to God to show great generosity and show mercy above all things” (St. Chrysostom). “Comfort us in all our sorrow.” “The apostle shows that the God of all gives equal consolations to temptations. So blessed David said: “Because of the multitude of my illnesses in my heart, Your consolations have made my soul glad” (Ps. 93:19)” (Theodoret). “He did not say: he who does not allow us to fall into sorrow, but: he who comforts us in sorrow. Because this shows the power of God and strengthens the patience of those who mourn. The prophet David said the same thing: “You have spread me out in sorrow” (Ps. 4:2). He did not say: You did not allow me to fall into sorrow, or: You immediately dispelled the sorrow; but he said: during the continuation of the grief, You spread me, that is, you gave me great coolness and rest, which God did with the three youths. For He did not forbid them to be thrown into the furnace, and when they were cast in, He did not extinguish the flame; but when the oven was burning, he gave them coolness. And God usually does this in all cases. Hinting at this, Paul also says: “Comfort us in all affliction.” But he also shows something new. What is it? – The fact that God does not once, not twice, but always does this. For God does not act in such a way as to comfort one day and leave at another time; but always and in every time of sorrow it provides consolation. That is why the Apostle said: “comforter,” and not: comforter; and: “in every sorrow”, not in one or the other, but in every one” (St. Chrysostom). “For it is possible for us to comfort those who exist in any sorrow, with the consolation with which we ourselves are comforted from God.” - “For it is possible” Εις το δυνασθαι, so that we can. For this reason, he says, God comforts us in all sorrow, so that we too can comfort others. We are either Saint Paul and Saint Timothy, or all the Apostles in general. God chose them to be both organs of His word and instruments of consolation for those who grieve for this word. But how could consolation pass from the Apostles to other mourners? - Some say: by the example of the consolation given by the Apostles, other mourners were inspired to complacent patience, and the hope of such consolation consoled them in their sorrows; others: out of love for the Apostles, others, looking at their sorrows, grieved themselves; but when they received consolation, they were comforted with them. And the sorrow of the Apostles was their sorrow, and the consolation of the Apostles was their consolation (Ecumenius, Theophylact). Both of these, although they may be accepted, do not fully express the thoughts of the Apostle. Here the consolation from the Apostles passes on to others without the knowledge of the Apostles themselves; and in the word of St. Paul they are represented as actively pouring consolation into the hearts of other mourners. Comforted by God, they become an overflowing source of consolation for those who mourn; the comfort with which God comforts them they share with others. How is this possible? - Through the word. A heart full of consolation imparts consoling power to the word, so that it breathes only consolation. The one who grieves knows from which side the tormenting and killing tides of grief come, and he also knows what thoughts the comforting God raises in the soul in reflection of these tides; why can any soul be so tuned that even those who grieve will rejoice forever? The Apostles abounded in this gift; and just as, being alive, they consoled all those who grieved, so in their writings they left us instructions by which, guided, every sorrowful person will find consolation. 2 Cor. 1:5. Just as Christ’s sufferings abound in us, so our consolation also abounds in Christ. He sets forth a reason why there should be no doubt that they can certainly comfort those in any affliction. Do not doubt this, he says; For we have both sorrows in abundance and consolations in abundance; We grieve the most, but God gives us the most consolation. We have a lot of it in stock; sorrows are for us, but consolations are for you. Having said that we have suffering in abundance, the Apostle did not stop at this one thing; “but in order not to depress the disciples by too strong a description of their misfortunes, it also shows a great wealth of consolation, and thus encourages their spirit; and not only by this does he encourage them, but also by the fact that he remembers Christ, saying about his sufferings that they are the sufferings of Christ, and thus, before any other consolation, he draws consolation from the very sorrows. For what could be more pleasant than this, to be a fellow member of Christ and endure suffering for His sake? What can be equal to this consolation? (Saint Chrysostom). The Apostle called the sufferings of Christ, because they were for Christ, for His word and for the work of preaching the salvation of all in the Lord Jesus Christ. One can say even more: suffering for Christ is Christ’s, because He appropriates it to Himself, considers it His own. He once suffered all-encompassing suffering; those who suffer for Him enter into compassion for Him, which, as the Apostle often assures, is the mystery of our salvation. Communion of the sufferings of Christ introduces us into communion of His life, and that is all. Having placed suffering for Christ so close to the suffering of Christ, the Apostle, in this communion with Christ through suffering, also points out the source of consolation. By suffering for Christ, we enter into the communion of Christ’s sufferings; but since Christ is now in blessed glory, it is natural through Christ to have an abundance of consolations, despite sorrow, or in sorrow itself, so that sorrow remains only on the outside, but only consolation reigns inside, and this cannot be otherwise. This is not produced in the heart by any consoling thoughts, but consolation, apart from all efforts of the mind and self-comforting considerations, flows into the soul from the face of Christ the Lord and, settling in it, fills it. “In Christ,” he says, “our consolation abounds,” and it abounds over suffering and absorbs it. This is how Saint Chrysostom understands: “The Apostle glorifies the Lord’s love for mankind by also saying: we are much more comforted than we grieve. because he did not say that consolation is equal to suffering, but consolation, he says, is abundant, so that the time of exploits is at the same time a time of excess of consolation. That is why those who suffer for Christ do not fear or tremble, and even in the midst of adversity they are the calmest and most joyful of all: for they are immediately rewarded with countless consolations from Christ Himself.” 2 Cor. 1:6, 7. If we grieve for your consolation and salvation, which operates in the patience of the same sufferings that we suffer: and our hope is known about you. If we are consoled by your consolation and salvation, knowingly, like those who share our nature with our passion, the same is true for consolation. Thus, he says, it turns out that whether we suffer, we suffer for your sake, whether we are comforted, we are comforted for your sake. This is the direct thought of both texts, and it is self-explanatory. But Saint Paul expounds it at length, with some connections. This is for your sake, the Apostle expresses, “for your consolation and salvation.” He talked all about consolation, and it seems as if that is the main thing, and here “salvation” is brought in. How the consolation of Christ is the fruit of the apostolic sufferings, this directly follows from the previous one. Because we suffer, it was said ahead, because we are comforted; We are consoled so that we have the opportunity to console others who are grieving. From here it is obvious that the Apostles suffer in order to be filled with consolation themselves and then pour it into the souls of others who are in any sorrow, that is, they suffer and are consoled to console others. But what about “salvation”? – That’s the main thing. For the Apostles suffered for the preaching of the Gospel, and the Gospel is the gospel of the only form of salvation for us, receiving which by faith, those who heeded the gospel were saved. Zeal for this salvation inspired the Apostles in the labors of preaching and in enduring all sorrows. She walked ahead; it also attracted consolation. Likewise, believers, receiving the gospel from the Apostles, entered the path of salvation; but along with this introduction they were also subjected to sorrow, and while grieving for this reason, they were granted consolation from the Apostles, who grieved for the Gospel and their salvation - so that such an inextricable connection of suffering and consolation in the Apostles and believers exists for the sake of the salvation that is accomplished in one through the other. Only in the order of salvation does it happen that suffering itself exudes consolation. This, as stated above, is because suffering brings believers and those who are being saved into participation in the sufferings of Christ, into union with Christ Himself, from Whom, as He is constituted in blessed glory, consolation is immediately poured out. The main thing, therefore, both in the Apostles and in the believers is the achievement of salvation. Its consolation creates and, taking away the destructive effect of sorrows, does not allow them to interfere with the organization of salvation. Blessed Theodoret writes: “For you (we, the Apostles) we fall under all kinds of temptations (tribulations). For if we had not wanted to teach you a saving sermon, no one would have caused us suffering. But since we are providing for your salvation, we accept the infliction of sorrows from our opponents, and we take consolation from the Lord God. And thus, for your sake, we have both. Partake of both with us, as you assimilate all that is ours.” This assimilation of everything Apostolic was already in action in them. Faith was accepted; by faith they began to work out salvation; For the sake of both, they began to suffer. Therefore, the Apostle says: “We suffer for your consolation and salvation, which works in the patience of the same sufferings that we also suffer.” They believed, fell behind the pagan gods, moved away from pagan customs, alienated themselves from the orders of pagan carnal life, and became strangers among their own; and for this they were subjected to troubles, deprivations, and oppression. They accomplished salvation; but just as it was impossible not to irritate others, this achievement of salvation was accompanied by the endurance of suffering. The Apostle says: “the same sufferings”, in the sense: the same sufferings, that is, for the same work for which we suffer, for the achievement of salvation. He is not writing some kind of exhortation, but stating the matter as it is. We suffer to bring you salvation through the gospel; you suffer after receiving the gospel. This is evidence that salvation is being accomplished in you. If there is salvation, then there is consolation, for they are inseparable. Saint Chrysostom says: “We (the Apostles) are not the only ones responsible for your salvation, but you yourself. For just as we, when we preach, endure tribulations, so you, when you receive our word, endure the same: we, in order to convey to you what we ourselves have received; and you, to accept what is given and not lose. Your salvation is not achieved only by the fact that you believe, but also by the fact that you also suffer and endure, just like us. From this it is clear that the real power of salvation lies not only in not doing evil, but also in courageously enduring evil.” It is not superfluous to pay attention to the word: “acting”. From the outside - suffering; under cover, their salvation is working inside them. By whom and how? – As if in addition to and without the knowledge of those being saved. They only suffer and strain their strength to endure; and there - inside - salvation works by itself. But even though it comes naturally, it still cannot act without an agent. Who is this? – The grace of God, in Christ Jesus our Lord, who, just as He deigned to suffer Himself, also arranges the salvation of all under the yoke of suffering. Saint Chrysostom remarks on this word: “He did not say: active, but “acting,” showing that their zeal was greatly facilitated by the grace acting in them.” “And our hope is known in you.” You suffer, he said, just like us, working out your salvation. But although you suffer countless disasters, we hope that you will not fall away even when they persecute you. We not only have no suspicion that you will be embarrassed by our suffering, but we also hope that you will remain firm even when you yourself are exposed to dangers” (St. Chrysostom). We take comfort in “your consolation and salvation: knowingly, just as we share passions, so do we have consolation.” There, as evidence that the Apostles suffer for the consolation and salvation of believers, he cites the suffering of these latter. These sufferings confirmed that salvation was in effect; consolation is inseparable from salvation. But the fact that salvation worked in them came from the Apostles, who preached the gospel and suffered for the gospel. Here, what is consoled for the sake of their own consolation and salvation is mediated by their suffering. We suffer for the gospel, you suffer for the acceptance of the gospel. It would be sad for us to see that you suffer as if through our fault. But it doesn't crush us. Why? – By undoubted coincidence, we have both suffering and consolation. For as it is in us, so it must be in you. Our sufferings give us consolation through Christ our Lord and Savior. Undoubtedly, the same should be in you: for Christ the Lord is the same for you as for us; because you too are doing His work, just as we are. Knowing this, we are not embarrassed by your suffering that accompanies the acceptance of our gospel, “knowing that you, as community members, have passion, and so do consolation.” But this happened later, but this is what lies ahead: the Lord, in the midst of the most suffering, filled the Apostles with all consolation. Experiencing this and knowing that believers would also undoubtedly undergo suffering, the Apostles told them everything in advance - both that they would certainly undergo suffering, and that in the very suffering they would receive consolation. Knowing this, believers courageously faced suffering and, enduring it patiently, were confirmed in salvation and were granted consolation. If the Apostles had not warned them about everything, they would not have entered into the struggle, and, consequently, onto the path of salvation and consolation. How would the Apostles begin to warn without themselves experiencing consolation in suffering? And it turns out that God sent them consolation for the sake of the consolation and salvation of believers. For this was already the inevitable path: to believe, and by believing to suffer. Suffering would drive one away from faith if it did not exude consolation. They exuded, but to believe it, experiments were needed. These experiences were revealed by God in the person of the Apostles, who then boldly confirmed to everyone: you will suffer, do not be embarrassed; in the midst of suffering you will receive consolation. This is how it always happens to us, and this is how it will be with you: those who share our passions are also those who share our consolation. But you can understand the words: “we are comforted by your consolation” and: “commoners of passions - fellowshippers of consolation” to mean that this happens out of sympathy. Believers see the Apostles suffering, and they suffer for themselves; they see comforted, and they themselves are comforted; and are even more confirmed in the matter of salvation. So St. Chrysostom: “Our consolation turns into reassurance for you, even when we do not happen to console you with words. If we only receive a little consolation, then this will be enough for your consolation. And at least we alone happened to receive consolation, and this will already console you. Because just as you accept our suffering as your own, so you should consider all our consolation as your own. For since you participate in our sorrows, why will you not participate in our joys? No; just as when we are persecuted, you grieve, as if you yourself were suffering persecution, so we are confident that even when we receive consolation, you accept it as if you yourself enjoyed it.” b) The prayers of believers also participate in deliverance from troubles (2 Cor. 1:8–11) 2 Cor. 1:8. We do not want you, brethren, not to know about our sorrow that happened to us in Asia, for we were burdened much [and] more than by force, as if we had no hope of living. “We don’t want to lead you,” we want you to know. “We announce this to you,” he says, so that you will not be ignorant of what happened to us. For we want you to know everything that is happening to us, and we are very concerned about this. And this is the strongest proof of his love for them” (St. Chrysostom). “About our sorrow that happened to us in Asia.” What sorrow does the Apostle mean here? - Or the sorrow that he suffered from those “many resisters”, whom he mentioned in the first letter (1 Cor. 16:9) (St. Chrysostom, Ecumenius, Theophylact), - or “he means the uprising erected by the silversmith Demetrius” (Theodoret). But why not understand here, in addition, the great extreme in which the Apostle was, fighting the beast in Ephesus (1 Cor. 15:32)? – These two passages explain themselves mutually, and everything that the Apostle now says becomes completely understandable when we assume that he understands the grief that he experienced when he was forced to come face to face with the beast; It is clear how much and more than his strength he was burdened at this time, how he did not hope to remain alive and formed the idea that he would no longer live (the condemnation of death is “meaning”), and how, when God delivered him from this misfortune, he did the same to deliver him from death. Therefore, we believe that it is best to dwell on this circumstance, without deviating into an allegorical interpretation of the Apostle’s struggle with the beast, without hiding behind the fact that nothing is said about it in the Acts. “We are burdened with much [and] more than our strength,” “like a ship burdened beyond its strength with some kind of load and ready to sink. – With the words: “much [and] more than strength”, at first glance it seems as if one and the same thing is being expressed, but in fact it is not the same thing. Much no longer means “more than strength.” Why, lest anyone say: no matter how excessive the danger was, it was not great for you, the Apostle added that it was great, and exceeded our strength, and exceeded so much, “as if we could not hope to live,” that is, we no longer expected to be alive. What state David calls “the gates of hell, mortal diseases and the shadow of death” (Ps. 87). The Apostle says the same thing, that is, that they were exposed to such danger that undoubtedly threatened them with death.” These are the words of Saint Chrysostom. How well they walk when we imagine Saint Paul standing before the beast! 2 Cor. 1:9. But we have within ourselves the condemnation of death, so that we may not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead. “We have within ourselves the condemnation of death,” that is, we ourselves, in our thoughts, decided that we would no longer live, condemned ourselves to death and decided to do so. Saint Chrysostom says: “What does condemnation of death mean? - This means a sentence, a determination, an expectation of death. For this is what deeds said, this is the sentence pronounced by the circumstances that happened, that is, that we must certainly die. However, this did not actually happen, but only stopped at our expectation. For although the course of affairs clearly showed this, the power of God did not allow this sentence to come to fruition, allowing it to strike only our thoughts and our expectations. That’s why he says: “in ourselves”, and not actually condemning “death by means”. – Why did God allow them to be exposed to such danger that they lost hope and even despaired of life? - “Let us not put our trust in ourselves, but in God.” However, Saint Paul did not say this because he himself was inclined to be arrogant. No; but under the guise of telling a story about himself, he only wanted to enlighten others, and, moreover, he said so out of his characteristic humility. He never abandons his custom of placing himself alongside the worst people, who need a lot of teaching and correction. For if even for the chastity of ordinary people one or two temptations are enough, how could one who, through the exploits of his whole life, acquired a special humility before all people and endured as much as no one else, after so many years and having achieved wisdom worthy of heaven, could have the need for such a difficult admonition? From this it is clear that here he is only out of humility and to bring to the same humility those who dream a lot about themselves and are proud of themselves, he says: “let us not trust in ourselves, but in God, who raises the dead.” Here again he reminds them of the resurrection, about which he spoke so much in the first letter, and with the present circumstances he further confirms the truth of it.” And the Apostle mentioned the fight with the beast in his first epistle as one of the arguments convincing people to believe in the truth of the resurrection. Short there, longer here. Deliverance from such mortal extremes is very similar to resurrection from the dead. Why did he not qualify God with this other name, as calling Him the restorer of the dead? Therefore, perhaps, there, too, when discussing the resurrection, we will remember our deliverance from the jaws of animals, as if they were the gates of mortals. 2 Cor. 1:10. He has delivered us from a great deal of death and is still delivering us, even more and with hope that he will deliver us again. We, he says, were in such extremity that our death was a decided matter. By delivering us from such extremes, God delivered us from death; we appeared as if alive from death, as if the buried had risen from their graves. “I saved you from a bit of death,” he says. He did not say: because of the great dangers, both in order to show the irresistible power of temptations, and in order to further convince him of the truth of his teaching, which he proposed before. since the resurrection of the dead is still a matter of the future, he shows here that it happens every day. For when God pulls out a man who has despaired and is approaching the mortal gates of hell, what else does He do but raise the dead, taking from the very mouth of death the one who has fallen into it? Therefore, when a person is unexpectedly released from a desperate state, it has become a custom for many to say: in this man we saw the resurrection of the dead” (St. Chrysostom). We say: he has risen from the dead. "And delivers". He spoke about the great tribulation that happened in Asia; and this speaks of the sorrows from which he had just emerged, and the heartache experienced in Troas, and of those external battles and internal illnesses that bothered him in Macedonia. The tribulations continue; following in their footsteps is the mercy of God that delivers them. The hand of God that holds me and protects me will never be taken away. I feel it and confess it. “With hope and hope, he will deliver again.” – “With hope” – with hope, we have undoubted hope, unshakably believing that this will always be the case as long as we are destined by God to live and act for His glory, planting the Gospel faith on earth; it will be that God will deliver us from all extremes. It is as if we are doomed to suffering and sorrow. We know this and do not expect anything else ahead; but this does not confuse us or stop us: for as much as troubles and sorrows are certain for us, deliverance from them is equally certain. One expectation is covered by another; and the peace of our spirit remains firm. The Apostle says, as it were: “We must strive unceasingly throughout our entire lives; There will still be many temptations ahead, and we will not be abandoned in them again, but will receive help and assistance from above” (St. Chrysostom). 2 Cor. 1:11. To those who help you also through prayer, so that from many people, the gift in us, many will give thanks for you. “Having made good” refers not to “deliver” only, but also to “deliver” and “deliver”. He wants to say: your prayer is always helpful and helpful to us, and was, and is, and will be. “He delivered us,” he says, from these deaths, through the intercession of all of you in prayer for us” (St. Chrysostom, and Photius in Ecumenium). If this prayer aid only referred to the future deliverance from troubles, the Apostle would have said: make good yourselves too. But he does not ask, but speaks of it as a pious action, which is carried out anyway, according to the routine. And the prayer for the father-enlightener was organized by itself, and, one must assume, the commandment was laid down directly after enlightenment. Everywhere everyone prayed with common prayer for their father, who gave birth to spiritual life. So “there is no diligent prayer, made from the Church to God” for Peter (Acts 12:5). So all the Churches prayed for Saint Paul, may God prosper him in everything. This prayer contributed to the fact that God delivered, is delivering and will deliver him from all troubles. This is not a condition without which God’s help cannot take place; but such is the order in the spiritual kingdom that such prayer urgently happens in it, although God Himself sends down everything, as “the Father of bounties and the God of all joy.” “Notice here,” says Saint Chrysostom, “that when God grants something by grace, prayer helps a lot here too. So although at the beginning of the letter Paul attributed his salvation to the bounties of God; but here he attributes it to the prayers of the faithful.” “To those who are successful συνυπουργουντων, and to you.” Who are the other accomplices in this matter? And Saint Paul himself, and all the other Churches, and believers. Thus it pleased God to arrange the kingdom of Christ, so that the need of one would be the common need of all, and deliverance from it would be accepted as a benefit for all. Through this, God wants to keep everyone in a union of love, living and heartfelt. Nowhere is this union expressed more tangibly than in sympathy and unanimous prayer as a result. Everyone becomes like one soul here. That is why prayer is so strong and quickly heard. Saint Chrysostom says: “Often the unanimous and consonant prayer of many bows to God. Therefore, He said to the prophet Jonah: “I will not spare... this city, in which live as many as twelve people” (Jon. 4:11). This is after they repented and cried out to God in prayer. Also, what did the prayer for Peter do? “This prayer was so strong that even when the doors of the prison were locked, and the bonds bound the Apostle, and the guards slept on both sides of him, they brought him out of the prison and freed him from all these dangers.” “Yes, from many people, the talent in us is given thanks by many for us.” - “Giving” χαρισμα, such a gift, such a benefit, which cannot be obtained in any natural way, but only from God, from the bounty of God (Photius in Ecumenium). “The gift of the hedgehog in us” here means our salvation. The Apostle says: “God wanted to give our salvation, that is, deliverance from all the troubles that He mentioned, to all of you, so that many would thank Him, because many would receive grace” (St. Chrysostom). He points to a deed that has already been accomplished, but in it he also points out the law of God’s providential actions through the power of the prayers of many. God hears the prayers of many and grants what is asked, so that for what is given through the prayer of many, many will give thanks. What then? Does God need thanksgiving? - No; but for Him, what causes thanksgiving is dear and valuable in His sight. Thanksgiving is caused by a feeling of well-being, and well-being is the goal of God's generosity. Thanksgiving is evidence that God’s generosity is poured out to many, is accepted by many, and brings prosperity among them. In this is the peace of God. But this feeling of well-being is more valuable in the eyes of God when it is felt not for the sake of what everyone himself received from the hand of God, but what others received. In this case, thanksgiving is anointed with the fragrance of selfless love and puts those giving thanks into a similar mood with the giver. These are the principles hidden in the word of the Apostle! “And he said this both in order to encourage them to pray for others, and in order to teach them to always thank God for delivering others from disasters, showing at the same time that God especially desires this. Those who pray and give thanks for others, in both cases, gain much greater benefit for themselves” (St. Chrysostom). You might be interested in: