to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio… · verb — present passive participle, nominative singular feminine
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
read
ἀναγινωσκομένηanaginōskomenē
G314
to know again · verb — present passive participle, nominative singular feminine
of
ὑπὸhupo
G5259
under · preposition
all
πάντωνpantōn
G3956
all · adjective — genitive plural masculine
men
ἀνθρώπων,anthrōpōn
G444
from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — genitive plural masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Romans 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.
1 Corinthians 9:1-2 Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord?
1 Thessalonians 1:8 For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abr…
Philippians 1:7 Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and con…
1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But…
2 Corinthians 7:3 I speak not this to condemn you: for I have said before, that ye are in our hearts to die and live with you.
2 Corinthians 12:15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 3:1-5
In these verses,
I. The apostle makes an apology for seeming to commend himself. He thought it convenient to protest his sincerity to them, because there were some at Corinth who endeavoured to blast his reputation; yet he was not desirous of vain-glory. And he tells them, 1. That he neither needed nor desired any verbal commendation to them, nor letters testimonial from them, as some others did, meaning the false apostles or teachers, Co2 3:1. His ministry among them had, without controversy, been truly great and honourable, how little soever his person was in reality, or how contemptible soever some would have him thought to be. 2. The Corinthians themselves were his real commendation, and…
our epistle--of recommendation.
in our hearts--not letters borne merely in the hands. Your conversion through my instrumentality, and your faith which is "known of all men" by widespread report (Co1 1:4-7), and which is written by memory and affection on my inmost heart and is borne about wherever I go, is my letter of recommendation (Co1 9:2).
known and read--words akin in root, sound, and sense (so Co2 1:13). "Ye are known to be my converts by general knowledge: then ye are known more particularly by your reflecting my doctrine in your Christian life." The handwriting is first "known," then the Epistle is "read" [GROTIUS] (Co2 4:2; Co1 14:25). There is not so powerful a sermon in the w…
Ye are our epistle - I bear the most ardent love to you. I have no need to be put in remembrance of you by any epistles or other means; ye are written in my heart - I have the most affectionate remembrance of you.
Known and read of all men - For wherever I go I mention you; speak of your various gifts and graces; and praise your knowledge in the Gospel.
John Gill on 2 Corinthians 3:2
The Church Fathers
Evidence of salvation is an epistle in itself. The salvation of the Corinthians was in Paul's heart and in the hearts of those who were with him, for he was always thinking about it.
What means this, "ye are?" 'Did we need to be commended to others, we should have produced you before them instead of an epistle.' And this he said in the former Epistle. "For the seal of mine Apostleship are ye." But he doth not here say it in this manner, but in irony so as to make his question, "Do we need epistles of commendation?" more cutting. And in allusion to the false apostles, he added, "as do some, [epistles of commendation] to you, or letters of commendation from you" to others. Then because what he had said was severe, he softens it by adding, "Ye are our epistle, written in our hearts, known of all." Here he testifieth not only to their love, but also to their good works: since they are able to show unto all men by their own virtue the high worth of their teacher, for this is the meaning of, "Ye are our epistle." What letters would have done to commend and gain respect for us, that ye do both as seen and heard of; for the virtue of the disciples is wont to adorn and to commend the teacher more than any letter. "Written in our hearts." That is, which all know; we so bear you about every where and have you in mind. As though he said, Ye are our commendation to others, for we both have you continually in our heart and proclaim to all your good works. Because then that even to others yourselves are our commendation, we need no epistles from you; but further, because we love you exceedingly, we need no commendation to you. For to those who are strangers one hath need of letters, but ye are in our mind. Yet he said not merely, "ye are [in it]," but "written in [it]," that is, ye cannot slide out of it. For just as from letters by reading, so from our heart by perceiving, all are acquainted with the love we bear you. If then the object of a letter be to certify, "such an one is my friend and let him have free intercourse [with you], your love is sufficient to secure all this. For should we go to you, we have no need of others to commend us, seeing your love anticipateth this; and should we go to others, again we need no letters, the same love again sufficing unto us in their stead, for we carry about the epistle in our hearts.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Ye are our epistle,.... Here a reason is given why they stood in no need of letters of commendation, to or from the church at Corinth, because that church was their living epistle, and which was much preferable to any written one. The apostle calls them their epistle in the same sense, as they are said to be his "work in the Lord, and the seal of his apostleship", 1 Corinthians 9:1 they were so as persons regenerated by the Spirit and grace of God, in whose conversion he was an instrument; now it was the work of conversion in them, which was the epistle said to be
written in our hearts; some think it should be read, "in your hearts"; and so the Ethiopic version reads it; and it looks as if…
2 Corinthians 3:1-3
1. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
1. Incipimus rursum nos ipsos commendare? numquid, sicuti quidam, commendaticiis epistolis opus habemus ad vos? aut commendaticiis a vobis?
2. Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
2. Epistola nostra vos estis, scripta in cordibus nostris, quae cognoscitur et legitur ab omnibus hominibus.
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.
3.…
Paul’s ministry was validated by the lives of those who were changed by the Good News rather than by a letter of recommendation (cp. Acts 18:27). Christ, the author of this transformation, used Paul to lead believers to him. The marks of genuineness are not in letters written . . . with pen and ink on parchment, but in the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23) in human lives and carved . . . on human hearts.
