Open Heart

Open Heart June 23, 2015

Paul opens his mouth wide (anoigo) to speak to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 6:11), and his open mouth expresses the openness of his heart (he kardia hemon peplatuntai). He wants the Corinthians to respond by opening themselves up just as wide (v. 13), so that there is a gift exchange of mutual openness. He worries that the Corinthians have restrained their affection toward him, and he denies that he’s the cause of that restraint (v. 12).

Paul’s open-heartedness suggests a generosity of spirit. He speaks with parrhesia, boldly, not holding back. In the Old Testament, open-heartedness can mean openness to teaching (Psalm 118:32). Paul hopes that the Corinthians will receive be open in this sense, but the remarkable thing is that he claims to be open to what they have to teach him as well. Even though he is an authoritative apostle, he comes to receive as much as to give, and communion with the churches involves a mutual exchange of insight, wisdom, instruction, a con-spiration of the gifts of the Spirit. By this exchange of spiritual gifts, the saints are built up to the full stature of Christ – replaying the formation of Adam by the breath of the Spirit into nostrils of dust.

Restraint (stenochoreo) in affection inhibits the exchange and suppress the Spirit. Paul can open his mouth to communicate what’s in his open heart as much as he wants, but if the hearts of the Corinthians are closed to his words and if, further, they don’t open their hearts and mouths to speak back, there can be no deep mutual participation between them. 

Mutual openness is a gift of the gospel. God Himself was hidden in the old covenant, but in the incarnate Son He becomes visible, tangible; He steps out from behind the temple curtains so as to disclose His heart to us. He rends the veil of His own house and lets us in, and so tears through the veils that separate us from one another. 

But we put the veils back up. The ticks of self-protection that constitute (modern? Western?) social etiquette risk quenching the Spirit. They risk being a form of Galatianism, implicitly sewing the temple veil back together and closing our hearts to one another.


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