2Corinthians 2:12-17 comments: corrupting the word of God

2:12 ¶  Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the Lord, 13  I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia. 14  Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15  For we are unto God a sweet savour of

Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16  To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17  For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.

   

Troas would have been located in today’s Northwestern Turkey, a projection into the Aegean Sea. Paul’s excitement about the opportunities presented here are tempered by his concern about those who have corrupted God’s word. I’m not a Greek-o-phile but the word corrupt in verse 17 is translated from is pronounced kap-ale-yoo’-o and it refers specifically to a wine vendor who waters down his product to cheat his buyers. Unfortunately, modern versions like The New King James (NKJV) and The New International Version (NIV) have chosen to use the word peddle rather than corrupt obscuring the meaning of the verse and condemning all Christian bookstore operators, an absurd rendering of the word. Already in Paul’s day he is contending against people who are misusing and perverting God’s word, which he would have been referring to the Old Testament. Gnostic heresies were early on denying that Jesus had a human body and mingling in pagan occultism and philosophy with Christian doctrine.

Peter warned about people misunderstanding and misusing Paul’s letters also.

2Peter 3:15  And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16  As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

Verse 16 is very interesting in the concept of the unsaved person going from death to death and the saved person going from life to life and who can understand such things? He uses the word savour like the aroma of a sacrifice rising to God.