“I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again , I will not spare:”
My Notes
What Does 2 Corinthians 13:2 Mean?
Paul issues a final warning before his third visit to Corinth: I told you before. I'm telling you now. If I come again, I will not spare. The warning has been given. The patience has been expressed. And the next visit will include the discipline the previous visits delayed.
"I told you before, and foretell you" — the warning is both historical (I already told you) and prophetic (I'm telling you in advance). The Corinthians can't claim surprise. The information has been delivered twice — during the previous visit and now in writing. The coming discipline was announced before it arrives.
"I will not spare" (ou pheisomai — I will not hold back, I will not restrain myself) means the gentleness of previous visits will be replaced by the severity the situation requires. Paul has spared (1:23 — he delayed the visit to spare them). But the sparing has an expiration date. If repentance doesn't arrive before Paul does, the sparing stops.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Have you been given a warning (from God, from a leader, from circumstances) that you're treating as indefinite patience rather than a deadline?
- 2.Does 'I will not spare' (the end of patience-based restraint) describe what's approaching in any area of your life?
- 3.How does the double-warning pattern (told before + foretelling now) demonstrate fairness in the discipline?
- 4.Is the warning itself the mercy — and are you using the mercy-window to change before the arrival?
Devotional
I warned you before. I'm warning you now. If I come again — I won't hold back.
Paul's final warning to Corinth is as clear as language allows: the patience is running out. The sparing is expiring. The visits that were gentle (first visit — founding the church; second visit — the "painful visit" of 2:1 that was still restrained) will be followed by a third visit that isn't restrained at all.
"I told you before" — the historical warning. During the painful second visit, Paul told them: if this continues, the next time will be different. The information was delivered in person. Face to face. They heard it.
"And foretell you" — the written warning. Now, in the letter, Paul repeats: I'm coming. And this time, the discipline arrives with me. The foretelling is the mercy: you know what's coming. The warning precedes the action. The patience-clock is visible.
"I will not spare" — ou pheisomai — the negation of the very thing that characterized the previous visits. Before: I spared (1:23 — to spare you, I came not yet unto Corinth). Now: I will NOT spare. The sparing was grace. The not-sparing is the grace's deadline. Both are from the same person. Both are motivated by love. But the love that spared must eventually become the love that corrects.
The warning-before-action pattern is God's own: He warned before the flood (120 years of Noah's preaching). He warned before the exile (centuries of prophets). He warns before judgment arrives. The warning IS the patience. The warning IS the opportunity. And when the warning has been given — twice, three times, in person and in writing — the action that follows is neither surprising nor unfair.
Paul is coming. The sparing is over. And the Corinthians have been told — before and now — what the next visit brings.
The warning is the mercy. The arrival is the deadline.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
I told you before, and foretell you as if I were present a second time,.... He means, that he had in his former epistle…
I told you before - That I would not spare offenders; that I would certainly punish them. He had intimated this before…
I told you before, etc. - As Calmet maintains that Paul had already been twice at Corinth, it is well to hear his…
In these verses observe,
I. The apostle threatens to be severe against obstinate sinners when he should come to Corinth,…
I told you before, and foretell you Literally, I have spoken beforehand, and I say beforehand (I seide bifor and seie…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture