For all things are for your sakes. — We can scarcely doubt that he thinks in his own mind, and intends to remind them, of the glorious words of 1 Corinthians 3:22-23.
That the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many... — More accurately, that grace, having abounded by means of the greater part of you, may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. The passage is nearly parallel to 2 Corinthians 1:11. He takes for granted that the grace which he has received has been given in answer to the prayers, if not of all the Corinthians, yet at least of the majority (comp. the same distinction drawn in 2 Corinthians 2:6), and he is sure that it will, in its turn, cause their thanksgiving to be as copious as their prayers. The passage is, however, obscure in its construction, and two other renderings of the Greek are grammatically possible, which is more than can be said of the English version: (1) “that grace having abounded, may, for the sake of the thanksgiving of the greater part of you, redound...”; and (2) “that grace having abounded, may, by means of the greater part of you, cause thanksgiving to redound...” What has been given above is, it is believed, the closest to St. Paul’s meaning.