Verse 2
God had jealously guarded His people Israel from the deceitfulness of deceivers who sought to draw their affections away from Himself (cf. Hosea 2:19-20; Hosea 4:12; Hosea 6:4; Hosea 11:8). Paul felt the same concern for the Corinthians. His jealousy was in that sense "godly" (God-like). Paul pictured himself as the father of a virgin bride (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Corinthians 12:14). His desire was to keep his daughter, the Corinthian church, pure until she would consummate her marriage to Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:14; Ephesians 5:27; 1 John 3:2-3). [Note: See Richard D. Patterson, "Metaphors of Marriage as Expressions of Divine-Human Relations," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 51:4 (December 2008):689-702.] This will take place at the Rapture.
"Human jealousy is a vice, but to share divine jealousy is a virtue. It is the motive and object of the jealousy that is all-important. There is a place for a spiritual father’s passionate concern for the exclusive and pure devotion to Christ of his spiritual children, and also a place for anger at potential violators of that purity (2 Corinthians 11:29)." [Note: Harris, p. 385.]
The motive of Paul’s critics in citing what they had done was self-glorification, but Paul’s was the welfare of his readers. This is the first of three reasons that Paul gave for the Corinthians to bear with him (2 Corinthians 11:1). He wanted them to be completely loyal to Christ.
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