2 Corinthianschapter 9
15 verses · Paul · about AD 56 · Paul's letters
Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 2 Corinthians Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter, with Timothy named beside him in the letter's first verse, to the church of God in Corinth and the saints throughout Achaia. It is the second of two chapters about a relief fund for poor believers in Jerusalem. It follows straight on from chapter 8, and it comes just before the sharp defence of Paul's ministry that opens chapter 10. Listen for the language of the farm, seed and sowing and harvest. Listen also for how often thanksgiving to God returns near the end. Hear it as teaching about money that ends in praise.
Context
- Who
- Corinthian believers who could be publicly embarrassed if the money was not ready.
- What
- The second half of Paul's appeal for the collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem, with the reasons God gives His people for giving gladly.
- Where
- Written from Macedonia to the church at Corinth and the believers throughout the province of Achaia.
- When
- About AD 55 to 56, while Paul was in Macedonia and preparing to come to Corinth himself.
- Why
- To make sure the gift the Corinthians had promised was ready before Paul arrived with believers from Macedonia, and to teach them to give freely and cheerfully.
Historical context
Paul is managing honour carefully. He has boasted to the Macedonians about Corinth's readiness, and if Macedonian delegates arrive with him to find nothing collected, both parties lose face. Sending the brothers ahead so the gift is ready as a willing offering and not an exaction is diplomatic project management.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The agricultural proverb, sow sparingly, reap sparingly, was a commonplace anyone in a farming economy understood. Seed corn withheld from the ground was seed corn wasted.
"God loves a cheerful giver" draws on Proverbs, and the word behind cheerful is the root of the English "hilarious." Against a background of grudging obligation to patrons and city liturgies, giving gladly was the distinctive note.
The word Paul uses for this service is the same term used for a public benefaction in Greek cities, and he says it does two things at once: it supplies the needs of the saints, and it overflows in thanksgiving to God. The credit goes upward, not to a donor's inscription.
Significance
For the first hearers, this was money talk that never became a demand. Each is to give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the result described is relational, not just financial. Jewish believers in Jerusalem would pray for Gentile Corinthians because of this gift, and two communities separated by culture and eight hundred miles would be bound together by it.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Ready in Advance, Not Squeezed Out
2 Corinthians 9:1-2
no need for me to write to you: Paul has been boasting to the Macedonians that since last year you in Achaia were prepared to give. Your zeal has stirred most of them to do likewise, so the two provinces now spur each other on.
2 Corinthians 9:1
“For as touching the ministering to the saints - In regard to the collection that was to be taken up for the aid of the poor Christians in Judea; see the notes on Rom 15:26; 1Co 16:1; 2 Cor. 8. It is superfluous ... - It is needless to urge that matter on you, because I know that you acknowledge the obligation to do it, and have already purposed it. For me to write to you - That is, to write more, or to write largely on the subject.”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Corinthians 9:1
“For the members of Christ ought mutually to minister to each other. In this way, when we relieve the brethren, we do nothing more than discharge a ministry that is due to them. On the other hand, to neglect the saints, when they stand in need of our aid, is worse than inhuman, inasmuch as we defraud them of what is their due.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
2 Corinthians 9:1
“For--connected with 2Co 8:16: "Show love to the messengers of the churches; for as concerns the ministration for the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you who are so forward already." write--emphatical: It is superfluous to "write," for you will have witnesses present [BENGEL].”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
your eagerness to help: Paul's boast rested on a promise made the year before. John Calvin reads it as a report of what the church had resolved upon, which clears Paul of any charge of fickleness. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the zeal spread from Corinth to the greater number of the Macedonians.
2 Corinthians 9:2
“I know the forwardness of your mind - You have already firmly purposed to contribute to the support of the poor and suffering saints. That Achaia was ready a year ago - The whole of the Morea was anciently called Achaia, the capital of which was Corinth. The apostle means, not only Corinth, but other Churches in different parts about Corinth; we know there was a Church at Cenchrea, one of the ports on the Corinthian Isthmus.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:2
“I answer, that his words are not to be understood as though Paul had declared, that what they were to give was already laid aside in the chest, but he simply mentioned what had been resolved upon among them. This involves no blame in respect of fickleness or mistake. It was, then, of this promise that Paul spoke.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
2 Corinthians 9:3-5
I am sending the brothers: Paul sends the brothers so that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove empty. Verse 5 calls the promised gift eulogia, blessing, the same term behind verse 6.
2 Corinthians 9:3
“Yet have I sent the brethren - The brethren referred to in 2Co 8:18, 2Co 8:22-23. Lest our boasting of you - That you were disposed to contribute, and that you were already prepared, and that the contribution was ready. Should be in vain - Lest anything should have occurred to prevent the collection. I have sent them that they may facilitate it, and that it may be secure and certain. In this behalf - In this respect.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:3
“Yet have I sent the brethren,.... Titus, and the other two mentioned in the foregoing chapter: one manuscript reads, "we have sent"; and the Ethiopic version, "they have sent", that is, the Macedonians; but the common reading is best.”
find you unprepared: The shame Paul fears would fall on both sides. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read his aside as tact, since the Corinthians would feel the shame for themselves more than Paul would. John Chrysostom notes that Paul says only that Macedonians may come, so the warning would not seem staged.
2 Corinthians 9:4
“Lest haply if they of Macedonia - If any of the Macedonians should happen to come with me, and should find that you had done nothing. He does not say that they would come with him, but it was by no means improbable that they would. It was customary for some of the members of the churches to travel with Paul from place to place, and the conversation was constant between Macedonia and Achaia. Paul had, therefore, every reason to suppose that some of the Macedonians would accompany him when he should go to Corinth.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:4
“In this confidence The Greek term being hupostasis the Old Interpreter has rendered it substantiam, (substance.) Erasmus renders it argumentum, (subject-matter,) but neither is suitable.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
the bountiful gift you had promised: The Greek word behind bountiful gift means a blessing. John Calvin keeps that sense, since the Greeks used the word for the Hebrew beracah, meaning a prayer for good and an act of kindness. Adam Clarke adds a late and reluctant gift would have looked like covetousness to watching strangers.
2 Corinthians 9:5
“Therefore I thought it necessary ... - In order to secure the collection, and to avoid all unpleasant feeling on all hands. That they would go before unto you - Before I should come. And make up beforehand your bounty - Prepare it before I come. The word “bounty” is in the margin, rendered “blessing.” The Greek (εὐλογία eulogia) means properly commendation, eulogy. Then it means blessing, praise applied to God. Then that which blesses - a gift, donation, favor, bounty - whether of God to human beings, or of one man to another.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:5
“As a blessing, not in the way of niggardliness In place of blessing, some render it collection. I have preferred, however, to render it literally, as the Greeks employed the term eulogias to express the Hebrew word vrkh, (beracah,) which is used in the sense of a blessing, that is, an invoking of prosperity, as well as in the sense of beneficence.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
God Loves a Cheerful Giver
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
whoever sows generously: The manner of the gift counts with God as much as the amount. Each gives what he has decided in his heart, for God loves a cheerful giver, hilaros, found nowhere else in the New Testament.
2 Corinthians 9:6
“He which soweth sparingly - This is a plain maxim: no man can expect to reap but in proportion as he has sowed. And here almsgiving is represented as a seed sown, which shall bring forth a crop. If the sowing be liberal, and the seed good, the crop shall be so too. Sowing is used among the Jews to express almsgiving: so they understand Isa 32:20: Blessed are ye who sow beside all waters; i.e. who are ready to help every one that is in need.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:6
“I say--ELLICOTT and others supply the ellipsis thus: "But remember this." bountifully--literally, "with," or "in blessings." The word itself implies a beneficent spirit in the giver (compare 2Co 9:7, end), and the plural implies the abundance and liberality of the gifts.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
God loves a cheerful giver: Paul asks for a gift decided in the heart. Tertullian describes the church of his day giving this way, each member putting in a small monthly sum, with no one forced. John Chrysostom holds that God asks for eagerness because almsgiving benefits the giver even more than the poor.
2 Corinthians 9:7
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart ... - The main idea in this verse is, that the act of giving should be voluntary and cheerful. It should not seem to be extorted by the importunity of others 2Co 9:6; nor should it be given from urgent necessity, but it should be given as an offering of the heart. On this part of the verse we may remark: (1) That the heart is usually more concerned in the business of giving than the head.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:7
“Even if there is some kind of treasury, it is not accumulated from a high initiation fee as if the religion were something bought and paid for. Each man deposits a small amount on a certain day of the month or whenever he wishes, and only on condition that he is willing and able to do so. No one is forced; each makes his contribution voluntarily. These are, so to speak, the deposits of piety.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · APOLOGY 39patristic
2 Corinthians 9:7
“Persons sometimes will give merely to satisfy the importunity of those who ask their charity, and what they give is in a manner squeezed or forced from them, and this unwillingness spoils all they do.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
God is able to make all grace abound: Having all that you need renders autarkeia, sufficiency, the word Paul uses of his own contentment at Philippians 4:11. Here it is promised as enough for every good work, resting on God’s ability.
2 Corinthians 9:8
“God is able to make all grace abound - We have already seen, 2Co 8:1 that the word χαρις, in the connection in which the apostle uses it in these chapters, signifies a charitable gift; here it certainly has the same meaning: God is able to give you, in his mercy, abundance of temporal good; that, having a sufficiency, ye may abound in every good work. This refers to the sowing plenteously: those who do so shall reap plenteously - they shall have an abundance of God’s blessings.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:8
“All grace - Every kind of blessing. That ye may abound to every good work - God gives us everything, that we may do good therewith, and so receive more blessings. All things in this life, even rewards, are, to the faithful, seeds in order to a future harvest.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 9:9-10
The citation is Psalm 112:9, He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. Applied to the church’s giving, what is scattered becomes a lasting righteousness.
2 Corinthians 9:9
“As it is written - Psa 112:9. The idea is, “in this way will the saying in the Scriptures be verified, or the promise confirmed.” The psalmist is describing the character of the righteous man. One of his characteristics, he says, is, that he has scattered abroad, he has given liberally to the poor. On such a man a blessing is pronounced Psa 112:1; and one of the blessings will be that he shall be prospered.”
3 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:9
“He hath scattered abroad - (A generous word.) With a full hand, without any anxious thought which way each grain falls. His righteousness - His beneficence, with the blessed effects of it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 9:9
“So in Ps 112:9. the poor--The Greek word is found here only in New Testament, "one in straitened circumstances, who earns his bread by labor." The word usually employed means "one so poor as to live by begging." his righteousness--Here "beneficence": the evidence of his being righteous before God and man. Greek, "righteousness." remaineth--unexhausted and unfailing.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Corinthians 9:9
“As it is written,.... In Psa 112:9 where it is said of the good and righteous man, he hath dispersed ממוניה, "his riches", his substance, as the Chaldee paraphrase adds by way of explanation; not in a profuse extravagant manner, but with wisdom and prudence, and yet largely and liberally, according to his ability.”
Cross references
2 Corinthians 9:9
- QuotingPsalms 112:9“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor.”
'He hath dispersed abroad... his righteousness remaineth' ('as it is written')
seed to the sower: The figure comes from Isaiah 55:10. John Chrysostom sees Paul setting two returns together, a temporal one in the multiplied seed and a spiritual one in the harvest of righteousness. Albert Barnes reads the verse as God giving the sower the means to sow again.
2 Corinthians 9:10
“Translate, as in Isa 55:10, "He that ministereth (supplieth) seed to the sower and bread for food" (literally, "bread for eating"). minister--rather future, as the oldest manuscripts, "Shall minister (supply) and multiply." your seed--your means for liberality. the fruits of your righteousness--the heavenly rewards for your Christian charity (Mt 10:42).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:10
“And bread - All things needful for your own souls and bodies. Will continually supply you with that seed, yea, multiply it to you more and more. And increase the fruits of your righteousness - The happy effects of your love to God and man.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 Corinthians 9:10
“Now he that ministereth seed to the sower - The sower, as we have already seen, is he that gives alms of what he hath; and God, who requires him to give these alms, is here represented as providing him with the means.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Corinthians 9:11-12
You will be enriched in every way: This ministry of service renders diakonia, the word used of Paul’s own ministry, here applied to money sent from Gentile believers to Jewish ones. The gift works twice, supplying the needs of the saints and overflowing in thanksgiving to God.
2 Corinthians 9:11
“Being enriched in everything ... - In all respects your riches are conferred on you for this purpose. The design of the apostle is to state to them the true reason why wealth was bestowed. It was not for the purposes of luxury and self-gratification; not to be spent in sensual enjoyment, not for parade and display; it was that it might be distributed to others in such a way as to cause thanksgiving to God. At the same time, this implies the expression of an earnest wish on the part of Paul.”
Thanks Overflowing for His Unspeakable Gift
overflowing in many expressions of thanksgiving: The gift works in two directions at once. Adam Clarke describes the poor who are relieved seeing the hand of God in the relief and giving Him the glory. John Chrysostom adds that the Corinthians supply more than the saints need, and through the saints send thanksgiving up to God.
2 Corinthians 9:12
Greek, "The ministration of this public service (on your part) is not only still further supplying the wants of the saints (besides the supplies from other quarters), but is abounding also (namely, in respect to relieving the necessities of others in poverty) through many thanksgivings to God."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:12
“For the administration of this service - The poor are relieved, see the hand of God in this relief, and give God the glory of his grace.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Corinthians 9:13-14
Because of the proof this ministry provides: The saints in Jerusalem will read the gift as proof of your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ. The money argues the unity of Jew and Gentile in one body, a point the collection was partly meant to make.
2 Corinthians 9:13
“Whiles by the experiment of this ministration,.... That is, the poor saints at Jerusalem having a specimen, a proof, an experience of the liberality of the Gentile churches ministered to them by the apostles, first, they glorify God; by giving thanks unto him, acknowledging him to be the author of all the grace and goodness which they, and others, were partakers of; particularly for your professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:13
“Whiles by the experiment ... - Or rather, by the experience of this ministration; the proof (δοκιμῆς dokimēs), the evidence here furnished of your liberality. They shall in this ministration have experience or proof of your Christian principle. They glorify God - They will praise God as the source of your liberality, as having given you the means of being liberal, and having inclined your hearts to it.”
their prayers for you: The poor in Jerusalem repay the gift with prayer. Matthew Henry calls prayer the one recompense the poor can make, and often the greater gain for the rich. John Chrysostom reads their longing as a desire to see for themselves the grace God had given the Corinthians.
2 Corinthians 9:14
“The exceeding grace of God in you - By the ὑπερβαλλουσαν χαριν, superabounding or transcending grace, of God, which was in them, the apostle most evidently means the merciful and charitable disposition which they had towards the suffering saints. The whole connection, indeed the whole chapter, proves this; and the apostle attributes this to its right source, the grace or goodness of God. They had the means of charity, but God had given these means; they had a feeling, and charitable heart, but God was the author of it.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:14
“And thus should we recompense the kindnesses we receive when we are not in a capacity of recompensing them in any other way; and, as this is the only recompence the poor can make, so it is often greatly for the advantage of the rich.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 9:14
“Translate, "Themselves also with prayer for you, longing after you on account of the exceeding grace of God (resting) upon you." English Version is, however, good sense: They glorify God (2Co 9:13) by the experimental proof, &c., "and by their prayer for you." But the Greek favors the former.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
His indescribable gift!: Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift turns from the Corinthians’ gift to God’s own. Indescribable renders anekdiegetos, a word found nowhere else in the New Testament.
2 Corinthians 9:15
“PAUL had spoken of the liberality of the Corinthian Believers and he had endeavored to stir them up to a prudent preparation for displaying it. "Now, therefore," he said, "perform the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance, also, out of that which you have." He closes his exhortation by this remarkable sentence—"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift!"—intending, no doubt, to thereby give expression to his own hearty thankfulness and also to deliver a master stroke of argument for Christian liberality.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Corinthians 9:15
“It should seem rather that he means Jesus Christ, who is indeed the unspeakable gift of God unto this world, a gift we have all reason to be very thankful for.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Corinthians 9:15
“Thanks be unto God - Whitby supposes that this refers to the charitable disposition which they had manifested, and that the sense is, that God was to be adored for the liberal spirit which they were disposed to manifest, and the aid which they were disposed to render to others. But this, it is believed, falls far below the design of the apostle.”
How this psalm is built
The form: Directions on the right way of giving to the saints, bountifully, deliberately and freely, with encouragement for doing so, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Sowing and reaping | Verse 6 sets the figure: whoever sows sparingly reaps sparingly, and whoever sows generously reaps generously. Verse 9 speaks of gifts scattered abroad, and verse 10 of seed for the sower and the harvest of righteousness. Adam Clarke reads almsgiving here as seed sown that will bring forth a crop, and notes that the Jews used sowing as a word for almsgiving.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:6. | 2 Corinthians 9:6, 2 Corinthians 9:9, 2 Corinthians 9:10 |
| Scripture brought to the appeal | Verse 9 opens with As it is written and quotes Psalm 112:9, a psalm about the righteous man. Verse 10 takes its words about seed for the sower and bread for food from Isaiah 55:10. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown translate verse 10 as in Isaiah 55:10, and on verse 7 they set the cheerful giver beside Proverbs 22:9.Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:10. | 2 Corinthians 9:7, 2 Corinthians 9:9, 2 Corinthians 9:10 |
| All and every | Verse 8 says all four times in one sentence, all grace, all things, all times and all that you need, and ends on every good work. Verse 11 carries the pattern on with enriched in every way and generous on every occasion. John Wesley reads all grace as every kind of blessing, given so that it may be used to do good.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 2 Corinthians 9:8. | 2 Corinthians 9:8, 2 Corinthians 9:11 |
| Thanksgiving to God | The words thanksgiving to God close verse 11 and verse 12, verse 13 says the saints will glorify God, and verse 15 ends the chapter with Thanks be to God. The appeal for money finishes as praise. Adam Clarke counts the good effects of the gift in order, the saints supplied, thanksgiving given to God, proof of the Corinthians' obedience, and prayer made for them.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:13. | 2 Corinthians 9:11, 2 Corinthians 9:12, 2 Corinthians 9:13, 2 Corinthians 9:15 |
How the chapter is built
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 to 5 explain why the brothers are sent ahead: Paul has boasted of Corinth in Macedonia, and he wants the gift ready before any Macedonians arrive with him. Verses 6 to 11 give the reasons for giving generously, the law of sowing and reaping, the free decision of the heart, and God's power to supply. Verses 12 to 15 describe what the gift will do in Jerusalem, thanksgiving, glory to God and prayer, and end with thanks for God's indescribable gift.
Where it stands in the letter
Chapter 8 opened the appeal with the example of the Macedonian churches and sent Titus and two brothers to Corinth. Chapter 9 finishes it and leaves the Corinthians with nothing left to do but give. Chapter 10 then turns sharply, with Paul defending his authority against the rivals at Corinth.
The debated reading: why write what is needless?
Verse 1 says there is no need to write, yet Paul writes a whole chapter. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown tie the verse back to 8:16, so that the need Paul speaks of is to write about the collection itself when witnesses are coming (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:1). Albert Barnes reads it as needless to urge a duty the Corinthians already accepted, and so needless to write at length (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, on 2 Corinthians 9:1). John Chrysostom sees wisdom in the very contradiction, since Paul says it is needless and still speaks of it again (Homily 19 on 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 9:1).
The debated reading: the indescribable gift
Adam Clarke records that some take the gift of verse 15 to be Christ and others the almsgiving, and he holds that it is the same as the surpassing grace of verse 14, the work of Christ in the givers (Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:15). Matthew Henry takes it to mean Jesus Christ (Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:15), and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read it as the gift of God's own Son (Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:15). Albert Barnes sets aside the view that it means the Corinthians' charitable spirit as falling below Paul's design (Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments, on 2 Corinthians 9:15).
Keep studying
Studies7
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
John Chrysostom, Homily 19 on 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 9:2; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 2 Corinthians 9:1 and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 9:1.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Charles Hodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians; Charles Spurgeon, My Grace Is Sufficient and Other Sermons on 2 Corinthians; Frederic Godet, Commentary on the Epistles to the Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Chrysostom; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, APOLOGY 39.