2 Corinthians 2:5-11 (ESV Strong's)
5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Body, HEAL Thyself!
To understand the context of the above passage we have to have the benefit of reading and knowing the event that Paul is referring to. In the fist letter Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, he confronted a young man who was openly living in sin and NO ONE was objecting:
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father's wife. 2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
No only was the man living in the sin, like the rest of the world around him, but the church was not mournful of the sin. Paul, in that first letter, sent them instructions on how to deal with the sin. That discipline was to not have company with the person, until they were repentive. The church did just that. As a result of their obedience the young man repented. That not only brought about a change in him, it did in them. They were mournful of the sin. He was mournful of the sin. That is what ushers in Paul’s above writing in the second letter to the church. Paul is telling the body of Christ to heal itself. What is the medicine for this healing? Mournfulness over sin and love for the repentive heart. The Body of Christ can be healed of sin in its midst with those two pills. Being mournful about sin in our midst necessitates action. Being loving over a repentative soul calls for action. The Body of Christ is not healed by platitudes. The Body of Christ is healed by the holiness of Christ and the love of Christ, in action. If not, Satan takes a foothold. How many churches fail this test when they lack these to healing balms? They fail to be holy and mourn over sin in their midst, or they fail to forgive and practice Christ like love. The Body of Christ can be healed by the medicine Paul outlines above.
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