◄ 2 Corinthians 2:17 ►
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
Study Bible
For we are not like so many others
This phrase sets a clear distinction between Paul and other teachers of his time. The Greek word used here for "others" is "polloi," which implies a large number. Historically, during Paul's time, there were many itinerant teachers and philosophers who traveled around, often motivated by personal gain. Paul emphasizes that he and his companions are different, setting a standard for Christian ministry that is not driven by the same motives as these others.

peddling the word of God for profit
The term "peddling" comes from the Greek word "kapēleuontes," which refers to a huckster or a merchant who sells goods for personal gain, often with deceitful practices. In the context of the early church, this implies a warning against those who would exploit the Gospel for financial gain. This phrase serves as a cautionary note for modern believers to examine the motives behind their ministry and to ensure that the Gospel is shared with integrity and not for selfish purposes.

On the contrary, in Christ
The phrase "in Christ" is central to Paul's theology, signifying a deep, personal union with Jesus. It indicates that Paul's actions and words are rooted in his relationship with Christ, which is the source of his authority and sincerity. This union with Christ is what empowers believers to live and speak in a manner that reflects the truth of the Gospel.

we speak with sincerity
"Sincerity" here is translated from the Greek word "eilikrineia," which means purity or genuineness. Paul emphasizes that his message is delivered with pure motives, free from deceit or ulterior motives. This sincerity is a hallmark of true Christian ministry, reflecting a heart that is transparent and aligned with God's truth.

as those sent from God
This phrase underscores the apostolic authority and divine commissioning of Paul and his companions. The Greek word "apostoloi" means "sent ones," indicating that their mission is not self-appointed but divinely ordained. This divine sending provides the foundation for their message and mission, affirming that they are representatives of God's will and purpose.

and accountable to God
Accountability to God is a profound concept that underscores the seriousness of Paul's ministry. The Greek word "prosopon" refers to being in the presence of or before God. This accountability implies that Paul and his companions are ultimately answerable to God for their actions and words. It serves as a reminder for all believers that their lives and ministries are conducted under the watchful eye of God, who is the ultimate judge of their faithfulness and integrity.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 2 Corinthians, addressing the church in Corinth. He contrasts his ministry with those who exploit the gospel for personal gain.

2. Corinth
A major city in ancient Greece, known for its wealth and moral challenges. The church in Corinth faced various issues, including false teachings and divisions.

3. False Teachers
Individuals who were distorting the gospel message for personal profit, a concern Paul addresses in his letters.

4. The Church in Corinth
The recipients of Paul's letter, struggling with internal and external challenges, including the influence of false teachers.

5. Christ
Central to Paul's message, emphasizing sincerity and accountability in ministry as followers of Christ.
Teaching Points
Sincerity in Ministry
True ministry is marked by sincerity and integrity, not by personal gain. Believers are called to serve with pure motives, reflecting Christ's example.

Accountability to God
As those sent by God, Christians must remember their ultimate accountability is to Him. This perspective should guide their actions and words.

Discernment Against False Teachings
Believers must be vigilant against those who distort the gospel for profit. Knowing Scripture and the character of Christ helps in discerning truth from falsehood.

The Role of Christ in Ministry
Christ is the foundation of all genuine ministry. Our words and actions should align with His teachings and character.

The Danger of Materialism in Ministry
The pursuit of wealth can corrupt the message of the gospel. Christians are called to prioritize spiritual riches over material gain.
Bible Study Questions
1. How can we ensure that our motives in sharing the gospel are sincere and not influenced by personal gain?

2. In what ways can we hold ourselves accountable to God in our daily lives and ministries?

3. How can we discern between true and false teachings in today's context, and what role does Scripture play in this process?

4. Reflect on a time when you faced a challenge in maintaining sincerity in your faith. How did you overcome it?

5. How can the example of Paul's ministry inspire us to prioritize spiritual over material wealth in our own lives?
Connections to Other Scriptures
1 Timothy 6:5
Discusses those who view godliness as a means to financial gain, similar to the "peddlers" Paul mentions.

Philippians 1:15-18
Paul acknowledges that some preach Christ out of selfish ambition, yet he rejoices that Christ is preached.

Acts 20:33-35
Paul reminds the Ephesian elders of his example of not coveting wealth, highlighting his sincerity in ministry.

1 Thessalonians 2:3-6
Paul emphasizes that his message did not come from error or impure motives, nor was it a pretext for greed.
Sermons
Conscious Simplicity and IntegrityR. Tuck 2 Corinthians 2:17
Corrupting the Word of GodJ. Denney, B. D.2 Corinthians 2:17
The Way to Preach the GospelD. Thomas, D. D.2 Corinthians 2:17
Coming to Troas; Disquietude; Defence of His ApostleshipC. Lipscomb 2 Corinthians 2:12-17
The Effect of the Gospel MinistryT. Moir, M. A.2 Corinthians 2:12-17
The Constant Triumph of the Faithful MinisterE. Hurndall 2 Corinthians 2:14-17
People
Corinthians, Paul, Titus
Places
Achaia, Corinth, Macedonia, Troas
Topics
TRUE, Christ, Commissioned, Communion, Contrary, Corrupt, Corrupting, Fraudulent, God's, Hucksters, Message, Motives, Peddle, Peddlers, Peddling, Presence, Profit, Sight, Sincerity, Speak, Teachers, Trade, Transparent, Unlike
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Corinthians 2:17

     1690   word of God
     5307   envoy
     5465   profit
     5549   speech, positive
     5910   motives, examples
     6147   deceit, practice
     7726   evangelists, ministry
     7759   preachers, qualifications
     8252   faithfulness, relationships
     8275   honesty
     8767   hypocrisy

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

     5109   Paul, apostle

Library
The Triumphal Procession
'Thanks be unto God, which always leadeth us in triumph in Christ and maketh manifest through us the savour of His knowledge in every place.'--2 COR. ii. 14 (R.V.) I suppose most of us have some knowledge of what a Roman Triumph was, and can picture to ourselves the long procession, the victorious general in his chariot with its white horses, the laurelled soldiers, the sullen captives, with suppressed hate flashing in their sunken eyes, the wreathing clouds of incense that went up into the blue …
Alexander Maclaren—Romans, Corinthians (To II Corinthians, Chap. V)

The Two Effects of the Gospel
And, my brethren, how sweet is that consolation which Paul applied to his own heart amid all his troubles. "Notwithstanding all," he says, "God makes known the savour of his knowledge by us in every place." Ah! with this thought a minister may lay his head upon his pillow: "God makes manifest the savour of his knowledge." With this he may shut his eyes when his career is over, and with this he may open them in heaven: "God hath made known by me the savour of his knowledge in every place," Then follow …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Since These Things are So, Because it were Too Long to Treat Thoroughly Of...
35. Since these things are so, because it were too long to treat thoroughly of all that in that "Pound" [2458] of Dictinius are set down as precedents of lying, meet to be imitated, it seemeth to me that this is the rule to which not only these, but whatever such there be, must be reduced. Namely, either what is believed to be a lie must be shown not to be such; whether it be where a truth is left untold, and yet no falsehood told; or where a true signification willeth one thing to be understood …
St. Augustine—Against Lying

"But if Ye have Bitter Envying," &C.
James iii. 14.--"But if ye have bitter envying," &c. The cunning of Satan, and the deceitfulness of our own hearts, are such that when a grosser temptation will not prevail with conscience in some measure enlightened, then they transform themselves into angels of light, and deal more subtilely with us. And there is no greater subtilty of Satan, nor no stronger self deceit, than this, to palliate and cover vices with the shadow of virtue, and to present corruptions under the similitude of graces. …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

There Resulteth Then from all These this Sentence...
41. There resulteth then from all these this sentence, that a lie which doth not violate the doctrine of piety, nor piety itself, nor innocence, nor benevolence, may on behalf of pudicity of body be admitted. And yet if any man should propose to himself so to love truth, not only that which consists in contemplation, but also in uttering the true thing, which each in its own kind of things is true, and no otherwise to bring forth with the mouth of the body his thought than in the mind it is conceived …
St. Augustine—On Lying

On the Study of the Evidences of Christianity.
THE investigation of that important and extensive subject which includes what have been usually designated as The Evidences of Revelation,' has prescriptively occupied a considerable space in the field of theological literature, especially as cultivated in England. There is scarcely one, perhaps, of our more eminent divines who has not in a greater or less degree distinguished himself in this department, and scarcely an aspirant for theological distinction who has not thought it one of the surest …
Frederick Temple—Essays and Reviews: The Education of the World

Of the Matters to be Considered in the Councils.
Let us now consider the matters which should be treated in the councils, and with which popes, cardinals, bishops, and all learned men should occupy themselves day and night, if they loved Christ and His Church. But if they do not do so, the people at large and the temporal powers must do so, without considering the thunders of their excommunications. For an unjust excommunication is better than ten just absolutions, and an unjust absolution is worse than ten just excommunications. Therefore let …
Martin Luther—First Principles of the Reformation

Epistle xxxv. To Leontius, Ex-Consul.
To Leontius, Ex-Consul. Gregory to Leontius, &c. Since in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some indeed to honour but some to dishonour (2 Tim. ii. 20), who can be ignorant that in the bosom of the Universal Church some as vessels of dishonour are deputed to the lowest uses, but others, as vessels of honour, are fitted for clean uses. And yet it commonly comes to pass that the citizens of Babylon serve in task-work for Jerusalem, while …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

How the Rude in Sacred Learning, and those who are Learned but not Humble, are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 25.) Differently to be admonished are those who do not understand aright the words of the sacred Law, and those who understand them indeed aright, but speak them not humbly. For those who understand not aright the words of sacred Law are to be admonished to consider that they turn for themselves a most wholesome drought of wine into a cup of poison, and with a medicinal knife inflict on themselves a mortal wound, when they destroy in themselves what was sound by that whereby they ought, …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Preparatory Service; Sometimes Called the Confessional Service.
In our examination of the nature and meaning of the Lord's Supper, we have found that it is indeed a most important and holy Sacrament. It is in fact the most sacred of all the ordinances of the Church on earth. There is nothing beyond it--nothing so heavenly, on this side heaven, as this Feast. Nowhere else does the believer approach so near to heaven as when he stands or kneels, as a communicant at this altar, the Holy of Holies in the Church of Christ. What a solemn act! To approach this altar, …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

The Comforts Belonging to Mourners
Having already presented to your view the dark side of the text, I shall now show you the light side, They shall be comforted'. Where observe: 1 Mourning goes before comfort as the lancing of a wound precedes the cure. The Antinomian talks of comfort, but cries down mourning for sin. He is like a foolish patient who, having a pill prescribed him, licks the sugar but throws away the pill. The libertine is all for joy and comfort. He licks the sugar but throws away the bitter pill of repentance. If …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

A Book for Boys and Girls Or, Temporal Things Spritualized.
by John Bunyan, Licensed and entered according to order. London: Printed for, and sold by, R. Tookey, at his Printing House in St. Christopher's Court, in Threadneedle Street, behind the Royal Exchange, 1701. Advertisement by the Editor. Some degree of mystery hangs over these Divine Emblems for children, and many years' diligent researches have not enabled me completely to solve it. That they were written by Bunyan, there cannot be the slightest doubt. 'Manner and matter, too, are all his own.'[1] …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Things Pertaining to the Kingdom.
"Now is there solemn pause in earth and heaven; The Conqueror now His bonds hath riven, And Angels wonder why He stays below; Yet hath not man his lesson learned, How endless love should be returned." Hitherto our thoughts about "The Kingdom of Heaven" have been founded on the teaching of the King respecting His Kingdom recorded in the Gospels. But we must not forget to give attention to the very important time in the life of our Lord extending between His Resurrection and Ascension, during which …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

Elucidations.
I. (Such as have lapsed, cap. vii. p. 660.) The penitential system of the Primitive days, referred to in our author, began to be changed when less public confessions were authorized, on account of the scandals which publicity generated. Changes were as follows: 1. A grave presbyter was appointed to receive and examine voluntary penitents as the Penitentiary of a diocese, and to suspend or reconcile them with due solemnities--circa a.d. 250. 2. This plan also became encumbered with difficulties and …
Tertullian—On Repentance

Letter cxx. To Hedibia.
At the request of Hedibia, a lady of Gaul much interested in the study of scripture, Jerome deals with the following twelve questions. It will be noticed that several of them belong to the historical criticism of our own day. (1) How can anyone be perfect? and How ought a widow without children to live to God? (2) What is the meaning of Matt. xxvi. 29? (3) How are the discrepancies in the evangelical narratives to be accounted for? How can Matt. xxviii. 1 be reconciled with Mark xvi. 1, 2. (4) How …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

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