Question 1

In vv. 13–16, what emotions are mentioned, and who experiences them?

Accepted Answer

Paul names comfort and joy for himself and his companions, joy for Titus, increased affection in Titus toward the Corinthians, and Paul’s “good courage” about the Corinthians. The emotions are not random: Paul’s comfort is connected to the Corinthians’ recent response, and his joy grows further because Titus is joyful. Titus’s inner renewal (“his spirit has been refreshed”) is attributed to the Corinthians as a whole. Titus’s affection increases as he remembers how they received him, and Paul ends by rejoicing that he can now have confidence concerning them “in everything.”

Question 2

How does Paul explain the link between his comfort and Titus’s joy in v. 13?

Accepted Answer

Paul presents a sequence. First, “we have been comforted,” tied to what has just happened between Paul and the Corinthians. Then he says their joy became even greater because Titus himself was joyful. Finally, he gives the reason: Titus’s “spirit has been refreshed by you all.” In the passage’s logic, the Corinthians’ reception of Titus is not merely polite hospitality; it has a strengthening effect on Titus internally, and that outcome becomes an added source of joy for Paul and his coworkers.

Question 3

What does v. 14 claim about Paul’s “boasting” to Titus, and how does Paul support that claim?

Accepted Answer

Paul says he had spoken confidently about the Corinthians to Titus, and he was not “put to shame” by that confidence. The support is a consistency argument: just as Paul spoke “all things to you in truth,” his proud confidence to Titus was also “found to be truth” when events played out. The passage treats “boasting” here as public confidence that could have turned into embarrassment if the Corinthians had acted differently. Instead, what happened confirmed Paul’s earlier words.

Question 4

What details in v. 15 explain why Titus’s affection increases toward the Corinthians?

Accepted Answer

Paul ties Titus’s growing affection to memory and response. Titus “remembers all of your obedience,” and Paul highlights one concrete expression of that obedience: “how with fear and trembling you received him.” The text does not describe the whole backstory in these verses, but it does show that Titus’s emotional warmth is not based on flattery or gifts; it is grounded in their demonstrated seriousness and responsiveness when Paul’s representative arrived. Their reception functions as evidence of their posture toward Paul’s correction.

Question 5

What might “fear and trembling” communicate in this setting, based on the surrounding statements?

Accepted Answer

Within v. 15, “fear and trembling” sits next to “obedience” and “you received him,” so it most naturally signals the tone of their reception: serious, careful, and respectful toward Titus’s role and message. Because the wider section involves a previously tense situation, the phrase can also plausibly include unease—awareness that the moment mattered and that relationships were on the line. Either way, the phrase portrays intensity rather than casualness: their welcome of Titus matched the seriousness of the situation and the authority of the message he carried.

Question 6

What does Paul mean when he says in v. 16 that he is confident about them “in everything”?

Accepted Answer

At minimum, Paul means he now has strong encouragement about the Corinthians’ overall posture in the conflict he has been discussing: their reception of Titus, their obedience, and the truth of Paul’s earlier confidence are all evidence that the relationship has been repaired. The wording “in everything” could extend beyond this one episode, implying Paul expects ongoing reliability as the letter moves into other matters. But the explicit anchor in these verses is relational restoration and renewed trust, leading Paul to rejoice in a broadened confidence rather than guarded suspicion.

2 Corinthians 7:13-16

Scripture