But I will come to you when I shall have gone through Macedonia; for I do go through Macedonia.
Paul has finished his directions to the church at Corinth. Now he turns to his own travel plans. Behind this short note about Macedonia lie a changed route, a delayed visit, and a reason he held back until his second letter.
The letter itself shows where Paul was when he wrote. One commentator draws out the place, the force of his words, and what he hoped for:
It is clear from verse 8 that the apostle was in Ephesus when he wrote this first letter to Corinth. The false note added at the end of the common text says "from Philippi," but he really wrote from Ephesus... His purpose was to pass through Macedonia. That is the force of the Greek: a journey ahead of him as a settled thing, but not yet under way. He declined to see them then, hoping to stay some time with them, with the Lord's permission, instead of merely passing through.
This was not Paul's first plan. What he heard from Corinth changed it:
He maps out the round of work he planned, with his expected visit to them as the main thing in view. His original purpose was to see them before going on into Macedonia. But the news he had received from Chloe's household led him to send a letter rather than pay a passing visit... The Lord should first speak with them through his written word... by this means he works to bring their souls back to God first. Then, when he came, he could be among them as a comforter and not as one who rebukes... And we have reason to bless God for his change of mind.
Paul gives the new plan here without a reason. The reason comes later:
He had intended to visit them on the way to Macedonia, and a second time on the way back. He does not say here why he did not go there on his way to Macedonia. And he speaks with uncertainty about his stay at Corinth when he arrives there on his return... The second epistle will explain all this. In the state they were in, his heart would not allow him to visit them. But he treats them tenderly all the same, as still beloved Christians.
Some at Corinth took the delay as proof that Paul was unreliable. The real reason was the opposite:
He tells them that it was to spare them that he had not come to Corinth. This ought to have been a reproof, and he gives it in the most gentle way. It was the sweet result of divine love in his heart. He preferred to stay away or go elsewhere, instead of visiting the Corinthians in their present condition. Had he come at all, he must have come with a rod, and this he could not bear... He loved the Corinthians deeply, despite all their faults. They hinted unfairly that he had a fickle mind, because he did not visit them at once. He would rather bear that than come to blame them in their evil and proud state. He wished to give them time, so that he might come with joy.
Two verses later Paul adds a condition over the whole journey: "if the Lord permits." One writer takes that as the pattern for all Christian planning:
Paul mentions the important principle of all biblical planning: "if the Lord permits." Some at Corinth criticised him for not coming as planned, and in 2 Corinthians he had to explain why... We all have to make plans — in our daily lives as well as in the service of the Lord. The apostle also had plans and ideas about what he wanted to do. But we can learn a vital lesson from him: he was always dependent on the guidance of his Lord. He was sensitive to see when the Lord clearly wanted to change his plans and guide him in another direction.
But the condition has to be the right one. One writer shows how easy it is to pick the wrong one:
Suppose I say, "If the Lord delays His coming, I mean to go to London next week." I have made my trip to London depend on His delay. But He may delay, and still it may not be His will that I go at all. So I ought to place all my movements, all my actions, all my plans, under the commanding influence of my Lord's will.
- Place. Paul wrote from Ephesus. The journey through Macedonia was settled, but not yet begun.
- Pause. He had meant to visit Corinth first. News of their condition made him send a letter instead — and we have reason to bless God for the change.
- Purpose. The delay was love, not fickleness. A visit then would have meant a rod, so he gave them time and could come with joy.
- Postponed reason. He keeps his reason to himself here. The second letter explains it. This one still treats them as beloved Christians.
- Permission. "If the Lord permits" is the governing clause. Put every plan, in daily life and in service, under the commanding influence of the Lord's will.
But perhaps I will stay with you, or even winter with you, that *ye* may set me forward wheresoever I may go.
Paul closes a long letter of correction with his travel plans. He hopes to stay at Corinth, maybe the whole winter, and then be sent on his way. Two questions sit inside that plain-sounding schedule. Why was he not coming sooner? And what was he asking them to do for him?
Where was Paul when he wrote? And what did he hope for at Corinth? One commentator reads both out of the closing verses.
It is clear from verse 8 that the apostle was in Ephesus when he wrote this first letter to Corinth… He might perhaps then stay with them, or even spend the winter. He adds a word of loving confidence that they might send him on wherever he might go. He declined to see them at that time, for reasons explained in 2 Corinthians 1. He hoped instead to remain with them for a while, if the Lord allowed it, rather than just passing through.
The delay was deliberate. One writer traces the change of plan and the reason behind it.
His original purpose was to see them before he passed into Macedonia. But the report that reached him from Chloe's household led him to prefer a letter to a passing visit. Left to himself, that news might have made him hurry the visit rather than delay it. Under the sure guidance of the Spirit, though, he deals more wisely with their state. The Lord should first speak with them through his written word. He knew that what he wrote carried the weight and authority of a divine command. So he works by this means to bring their souls back to God first. Then, when he came, he might be among them not as a reprover but as a comforter. In the fellowship of the gospel they should strengthen him also, and help him on his way. But he puts off his visit, so that the effect of his letter may be seen first. And we have reason to bless God for his change of mind.
Staying away was not the same as giving up on them.
He speaks with uncertainty about his stay at Corinth when he would arrive there on his return from Macedonia. If the Lord permitted, he would stay a while with them. In their present state his heart would not allow him to visit them. But he treats them tenderly all the same, as still beloved Christians, giving them directions suited to the circumstances of the moment.
The phrase is not a polite farewell. Other letters use it too, and one writer shows what it cost.
It is right to support those who have gone out for "His Name's sake" and to help them on their way. Paul expressed his confidence in the believers at Rome that they would bring him on his way to Spain (Rom. 15:24. See also 1 Cor. 16:6; 2 Cor. 1:16 and Titus 3:13). The phrase "bring forward on their journey" suggests that the saints would meet the financial needs of the Lord's servants.
So Corinth, for all its problems, is still asked to send a servant on to the next place.
Paul names the visit but not where he goes next. One writer shows how a plan can sound godly and still rest on the wrong condition.
Suppose I say, "If the Lord delays, I mean to go to London next week." That makes my going to London depend on the Lord's delay. But He may delay, and it may still not be His will for me to go at all. So I ought to place all my movements, all my actions, all my plans, under the commanding influence of my Lord's will.
Did the winter at Corinth happen? One writer points to the record in Acts.
Acts 20:1-3 records the fulfilment of verses 5 and 6. The three months he remained in Greece were evidently the winter. From there he returned by way of Macedonia on the road to Jerusalem… He did not promise to come to Corinth soon. But when he did come, he wanted to stay for a time.
- Plan — Paul wrote from Ephesus. He meant to reach Corinth through Macedonia and stay, maybe the whole winter, instead of passing through.
- Pause — He held back on purpose. The letter would do its work first, so he could arrive as a comforter, not a reprover.
- Purpose — "Help me on my journey" makes a local church a partner in work beyond its own city. It receives a servant, then sends him on.
- Provision — Elsewhere in the New Testament the same phrase costs money. It means meeting the needs of those who go out for the Name.
- Permission — The destination stays open: "wherever I go." Every plan waits on the Lord's will. And the winter at Corinth did come, as Acts 20 records.