But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.
Paul's resolve not to return to Corinth in heaviness establishes cheerfulness as a duty for believers. That resolve opens the account of his reproof, which stirred the Corinthian church and brought its sinning members to repentance. The passage belongs to the instruction on church discipline, by which one persisting in conduct opposed to Christ may be placed outside the church so that he recognizes his true standing, repents, and is recovered from Satan's snare, and upon repentance is to be forgiven and restored.
The offender in view had been delivered over to Satan by being cast out of the apostolic church because, by his vile course, he was still living and practicing as a subject of Satan's dominion rather than as one subject to Christ. The exclusion was designed to remove the sanction of the church so he could see where he stood, recover himself from the snare, turn to the Lord, and by dying to fleshly lusts become alive to Christ and a subject of His kingdom. His exclusion produced repentance and reformation, and he was then forgiven by the church and by Paul and thus recovered, in fulfillment of Christ's direction for dealing with offenders.
Paul's resolve not to return to Corinth in heaviness establishes cheerfulness as a duty for believers. That resolve opens the account of his reproof, which stirred the Corinthian church and brought its sinning members to repentance. The passage belongs to the instruction on church discipline, by which one persisting in conduct opposed to Christ may be placed outside the church so that he recognizes his true standing, repents, and is recovered from Satan's snare, and upon repentance is to be forgiven and restored.
The offender in view had been delivered over to Satan by being cast out of the apostolic church because, by his vile course, he was still living and practicing as a subject of Satan's dominion rather than as one subject to Christ. The exclusion was designed to remove the sanction of the church so he could see where he stood, recover himself from the snare, turn to the Lord, and by dying to fleshly lusts become alive to Christ and a subject of His kingdom. His exclusion produced repentance and reformation, and he was then forgiven by the church and by Paul and thus recovered, in fulfillment of Christ's direction for dealing with offenders.