Text -- 2 Corinthians 1:23 (NET)

Why Paul Postponed His Visit

1:23 Now I appeal to God as my witness, that to spare you I did not come again to Corinth.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Co 1:23

But I call God for a witness upon my soul ( Egō de martura ton theon epikaloumai epi tēn emēn psuchēn ).

Solemn attestation, "calling heaven to witness is frequent in literature from Homer onwards"(Plummer). Thus God is described above (cf. 1Th 2:5, 1Th 2:10; Rom 1:9; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8).

Robertson: 2Co 1:23

To spare you ( pheidomenos humōn ).

Present middle participle (causal rather than final) of pheidomai , old verb, to hold back, to spare. Ablative case humōn .

Vincent: 2Co 1:23

I call God for a record ( τὸν Θεὸν ἐπικαλοῦμαι )

Rev., better, witness . A common classical idiom. Compare Plato: " Next will follow the choir of young men under the age of thirty, who will call upon the god Paean to testify to the truth of these words" (" Laws," 664). Homer: " For the gods will be the best witnesses" (" Iliad," xxii., 254). Compare Rom 1:9; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8; 1Th 2:5, 1Th 2:10; Gen 31:50, Sept. This particular form of expression occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. The verb is often translated appeal , as Act 25:11, Act 25:12. Also to call upon , in the sense of supplication , Rom 10:12, Rom 10:13, Rom 10:14; 1Co 1:2.

Wesley: 2Co 1:23

Was not St.

Wesley: 2Co 1:23

Lest I should be obliged to use severity. He says elegantly to Corinth, not to you, when be is intimating his power to punish.

JFB: 2Co 1:23

Greek, "But I (for my part)," in contrast to GOD who hath assured us of His promises being hereafter fulfilled certainly (2Co 1:20-22).

JFB: 2Co 1:23

The all-knowing One, who avenges wilful unfaithfulness to promises.

JFB: 2Co 1:23

As a witness as to the secret purposes of my soul, and a witness against it, if I lie (Mal 3:5).

JFB: 2Co 1:23

In order not to come in a rebuking spirit, as I should have had to come to you, if I had come then.

JFB: 2Co 1:23

Greek, "no longer"; that is, I gave up my purpose of then visiting Corinth. He wished to give them time for repentance, that he might not have to use severity towards them. Hence he sent Titus before him. Compare 2Co 10:10-11, which shows that his detractors represented him as threatening what he had not courage to perform (1Co 4:18-19).

Clarke: 2Co 1:23

I call God for a record upon my soul - The apostle here resumes the subject which he left 2Co 1:16, and in the most solemn manner calls God to witness, and consequently to punish, if he asserted any thing false, that it was through tenderness to them that he did not visit Corinth at the time proposed. As there were so many scandals among them, the apostle had reason to believe that he should be obliged to use the severe and authoritative part of his function in the excommunication of those who had sinned, and delivering them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, etc.; but to give them space to amend, and to see what effect his epistle might produce, (not having heard as yet from them), he proposed to delay his coming. It is plain, as several commentators have observed

1.    That St. Paul’ s doctrine had been opposed by some of Corinth, 1Co 15:12. His apostleship questioned, 1Co 9:1, 1Co 9:2, and 2Co 12:13

2.    Himself despised, and treated as a person who, because of the consciousness he had of his own worthlessness, dared not to come, 1Co 4:18. His letters, say they, are weighty and powerful - full of boastings of what he can and what he will do; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible, 2Co 10:10

3.    This being the state in which his reputation was then at Corinth, and he having promised to come to them, 1Co 16:5, he could not but think it necessary to vindicate his failing them by reasons which should be both convincing and kind, such as those contained in the preceding verses. See Dodd and others.

Calvin: 2Co 1:23

23.I call God for a witness He now begins to assign a reason for his change of purpose; for hitherto he has merely repelled calumny. When, however, he says that he spared them, he indirectly throws back the blame upon them, and thus shows them that it would be unfair if he were put to grief through their fault, but that it would be much more unfair if they should permit this; but most of all unfair if they should give their assent to so base a calumny, as in that case they would be substituting in their place an innocent person, as if he had been guilty of their sin. Now he spared them in this respect, that if he had come he would have been constrained to reprove them more severely, while he wished rather that they should of their own accord repent previously to his arrival, that there might be no occasion for a harsher remedy, ³⁰³ which is a signal evidence of more than paternal lenity. For how much forbearance there was in shunning this necessity, when he had just ground of provocation!

He makes use, also, of an oath, that he may not seem to have contrived something to serve a particular purpose. For the matter in itself was of no small importance, and it was of great consequence that he should be entirely free from all suspicion of falsehood and pretence. Now there are two things that make an oath lawful and pious — the occasion and the disposition. The occasion I refer to is, where an oath is not employed rashly, that is, in mere trifles, or even in matters of small importance, but only where there is a call for it. The disposition I refer to is, where there is not so much regard had to private advantage, as concern felt for the glory of God, and the advantage of the brethren: For this end must always be kept in view, that our oaths may promote the honor of God, and promote also the advantage of our neighbours in a matter that is befitting. ³⁰⁴

The form of the oath must also be observed — first, that he calls God to witness; and, secondly, that he says upon my soul For in matters that are doubtful and obscure, where man’s knowledge fails, we have recourse to God, that he, who alone is truth, may bear testimony to the truth. But the man that appeals to God as his witness, calls upon him at the same time to be an avenger of perjury, in the event of his declaring what is false. This is what is meant by the phrase upon my soul. “I do not object to his inflicting punishment upon me, if I am guilty of falsehood.” Although, however, this is not always expressed in so many words, it is, notwithstanding, to be understood. For

if we are unfaithful, God remaineth faithful
and will not deny himself (2Ti 2:13.)

He will not suffer, therefore, the profanation of his name to go unpunished.

TSK: 2Co 1:23

I call : 2Co 1:18, 2Co 11:11, 2Co 11:31; Rom 1:9, Rom 9:1; Gal 1:20; Phi 1:8; 1Th 2:5

that : 2Cor. 2:1-3:18, 2Co 10:2, 2Co 10:6-11, 2Co 12:20, 2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:10; 1Co 4:21, 1Co 5:5; 1Ti 1:20

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Co 1:23

Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul - It is well remarked by Rosenmuller, that the second chapter should have commenced here, since there is here a transition in the subject more distinct than where the second chapter is actually made to begin. Here Tyndale commences the second chapter. This verse, with the subsequent statements, is designed to show them the true reason why he had changed his purpose, and had not visited them according to his first proposal. And that reason was not that he was fickle and inconstant; but it was that he apprehended that if he should go to them in their irregular and disorderly state, he would be under a necessity of resorting to harsh measures, and to a severity of discipline that would be alike painful to them and to him. Dr. Paley has shown with great plausibility, if not with moral certainty, that Paul’ s change of purpose about visiting them was made before he wrote his First Epistle; that he had at first resolved to visit them, but that on subsequent reflection, he thought it would be better to try the effect of a faithful letter to them, admonishing them of their errors, and entreating them to exercise proper discipline themselves on the principal offender; that with this feeling he wrote his First Epistle, in which he does not state to them as yet his change of purpose, or the reason of it; but that now after he had written that letter, and after it had had all the effect which he desired, he states the true reason why he had not visited them.

It was now proper to do it; and that reason was, that he desired to spare them the severity of discipline, and had resorted to the more mild and affectionate measure of sending them a letter, and thus not making it necessary personally to administer discipline; see Paley’ s Horae Paulinae, on 2 Corinthians, Numbers 4 and 5. The phrase, "I call God for a record upon my soul,"is in the Greek, "I call God for a witness against my soul."It is a solemn oath, or appeal to God; and implies, that if he did not in that case declare the truth, he desired that God would be a witness against him, and would punish him accordingly. The reason why he made this solemn appeal to God was, the importance of his vindicating his own character before the church, from the charges which had been brought against him.

That to spare you - To avoid the necessity of inflicting punishment on you; of exercising severe and painful discipline. If he went among them in the state of irregularity and disorder which prevailed there, he would feel it to be necessary to exert his authority as an apostle, and remove at once the offending members from the church. He expected to avoid the necessity of these painful acts of discipline, by sending to them a faithful and affectionate epistle, and thus inducing them to reform, and to avoid the necessity of a resort to that which would have been so trying to him and to them. It was not, then, a disregard for them, or a lack of attachment to them, which had led him to change his purpose, but it was the result of tender affection. This cause of the change of his propose, of course, he would not make known to them in his First Epistle, but now that that letter had accomplished all he had desired, it was proper that they should be apprized of the reason why he had resorted to this instead of visiting them personally.

Poole: 2Co 1:23

Here is a perfect form of an oath, which is nothing else but a solemn calling of God to witness the truth of what we speak, whether promising or asserting. Those words,

upon my soul also have the force of an imprecation; but it is in a very serious thing: the apostle was deeply charged with levity, for not making good his promise in coming; and because he reasonably presumed, that some amongst them would be difficult to believe the true cause, to gain credit with them, he takes a voluntary oath, which in weighty matters is lawful (though sometimes it be done not before a magistrate). The thing he thus attests is: That he hitherto had forborne to come out of kindness to them; to

spare them, (as he phraseth it), which may either be understood of their purses, for he could not have gone without some charge to them, though he took no standing salary from them for preaching: or (as others possibly judge better) to spare their persons; for if he had come before they had reformed those abuses that were amongst them, he must (as he before spake) have come unto them with a rod.

Haydock: 2Co 1:23

Now as to my not coming to you, I call God to witness, that I only deferred my coming out of kindness to you, that I came not hitherto to Corinth, to spare you, when by reason of the disorders among you, I must have been forced to use severities against those who were not yet reformed. ---

Not that we lord it over your faith, nor desire to treat God's faithful with severity, or by shewing the power that God hath given us: but we rather desire to be helpers and promoters of your joy, that we may rejoice together with you in God. And now I have this greatest comfort to hear that you stand steadfast and firm in the faith of Christ. (Witham)

Gill: 2Co 1:23

Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul,.... The apostle having asserted his stability, both as a minister and a Christian, which, with others, he had from God, appeals to him in the most solemn manner, in full form of an oath, for the truth of what he was about to say; and is all one as if he had said, I swear by the living God, the searcher of all hearts; I call upon him to attest what I say, and bear witness to my soul, that it is true,

that to spare you, I came not as yet unto Corinth; however fickle, unstable, and inconstant, it may be insinuated to you I am, or you may take me to be, I do assure you in the name and presence of God, that the true reason of my not coming to you hitherto, since I gave you reason to expect me, was, that I might not be burdensome or chargeable to you; or I have delayed coming to you, hoping for a reformation among you, that when I do come, I may not come with a rod, and severely chastise you for the many disorders among you; that I might not use sharpness according to the power God has given me, in an extraordinary way, as an apostle, to punish for offences committed. Hence we learn, that an oath is a solemn appeal to God, and may be lawfully made in cases of moment and importance, as this of the apostle's was; whose character was traduced, and with which was connected the usefulness of his ministry; and it being an affair that could not be determined in any other way, and an oath being for confirmation, and to put an end to strife, he makes one in this serious and awful manner.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 1:23

¹ tn Grk “I call upon God as witness against my soul.” Normally this implies an appeal for help (L&N 33.176).

² tn Here φειδόμενος (feidomeno") has been translated as a telic participle.

³ sn Paul had promised to come again to visit (see 2 Cor 1:15, 24) but explains here why he had changed his plans.

map For location see JP1 C2; JP2 C2; JP3 C2; JP4 C2.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 1:23

^{( 14 )} Moreover I call God for a record upon my ^{( z )} soul, that to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth.

^{( 14 )} Now coming to the matter, he swears that he did not lightly alter his purpose of coming to them, but rather that he did not come to them for this reason, that he, being present, might not be forced to deal more sharply with them than he would like.

^{( z )} Against myself, and to the danger of my own life.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Co 1:1-24

1 Paul salutes the Corinthians;

3 he encourages them against troubles, by the comforts and deliverances which God had given him, as in all his afflictions,

8 so particularly in his late danger in Asia.

12 And calling both his own conscience and theirs to witness of his sincere manner of preaching the immutable truth of the gospel,

15 he excuses his not coming to them, as proceeding not of lightness, but of his lenity towards them.

MHCC: 2Co 1:15-24

The apostle clears himself from the charge of levity and inconstancy, in not coming to Corinth. Good men should be careful to keep the reputation of sincerity and constancy; they should not resolve, but on careful thought; and they will not change unless for weighty reasons. Nothing can render God's promises more certain: his giving them through Christ, assures us they are his promises; as the wonders God wrought in the life, resurrection, and ascension of his Son, confirm faith. The Holy Spirit makes Christians firm in the faith of the gospel: the quickening of the Spirit is an earnest of everlasting life; and the comforts of the Spirit are an earnest of everlasting joy. The apostle desired to spare the blame he feared would be unavoidable, if he had gone to Corinth before he learned what effect his former letter produced. Our strength and ability are owing to faith; and our comfort and joy must flow from faith. The holy tempers and gracious fruits which attend faith, secure from delusion in so important a matter.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 1:15-24

The apostle here vindicates himself from the imputation of levity and inconstancy, in that he did not hold his purpose of coming to them at Corinth. His adversaries there sought all occasions to blemish his character, and reflect upon his conduct; and, it seemed, they took hold of this handle to reproach his person and discredit his ministry. Now, for his justification,

I. He avers the sincerity of his intention (2Co 1:15-17), and he does this in confidence of their good opinion of him, and that they would believe him, when he assured them he was minded, or did really intend, to come to them, and that with the design, not that he might receive, but that they might receive a second benefit, that is, a further advantage by his ministry. He tells them that he had not herein used lightness (2Co 1:17), that, as he aimed not at any secular advantage to himself (for his purpose was not according to the flesh, that is, with carnal views and aims), so it was not a rash and inconsiderate resolution that he had taken up, for he had laid his measures thus of passing by them to Macedonia, and coming again to them from Macedonia in his way to Judea (2Co 1:16), and therefore they might conclude that it was for some weighty reasons that he had altered his purpose; and that with him there was not yea yea, and nay nay, 2Co 1:17. He was not to be accused of levity and inconstancy, nor a contradiction between his words and intentions. Note, Good men should be careful to preserve the reputation of sincerity and constancy; they should not resolve but upon mature deliberation, and they will not change their resolves but for weighty reasons.

II. He would not have the Corinthians to infer that his gospel was false or uncertain, nor that it was contradictory in itself, nor unto truth, 2Co 1:18, 2Co 1:19. For if it had been so, that he had been fickle in his purposes, or even false in the promises he made of coming to them (which he was not justly to be accused of, and so some understand his expression, 2Co 1:18, Our word towards you was not yea and nay ), yet it would not follow that the gospel preached not only by him, but also by others in full agreement with him, was either false or doubtful. For God is true, and the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is true. The true God, and eternal life. Jesus Christ, whom the apostle preached, is not yea and nay, but in him was yea (2Co 1:19), nothing but infallible truth. And the promises of God in Christ are not yea and nay, but yea and amen, 2Co 1:20. There is an inviolable constancy and unquestionable sincerity and certainty in all the parts of the gospel of Christ. If in the promises that the ministers of the gospel make as common men, and about their own affairs, they see cause sometimes to vary from them, yet the promises of the gospel covenant, which they preach, stand firm and inviolable. Bad men are false; good men are fickle; but God is true, neither fickle nor false. The apostle, having mentioned the stability of the divine promises, makes a digression to illustrate this great and sweet truth, that all the promises of God are yea and amen. For, 1. They are the promises of the God of truth (2Co 1:20), of him that cannot lie, whose truth as well as mercy endureth for ever. 2. They are made in Christ Jesus (2Co 1:20), the Amen, the true and faithful witness; he hath purchased and ratified the covenant of promises, and is the surety of the covenant, Heb 7:22. 3. They are confirmed by the Holy Spirit. He does establish Christians in the faith of the gospel; he has anointed them with his sanctifying grace, which in scripture is often compared to oil; he has sealed them, for their security and confirmation; and he is given as an earnest in their hearts, 2Co 1:21, 2Co 1:22. An earnest secures the promise, and is part of the payment. The illumination of the Spirit is an earnest of everlasting life; and the comforts of the Spirit are an earnest of everlasting joy. Note, The veracity of God, the mediation of Christ, and the operation of the Spirit, are all engaged that the promises shall be sure to all the seed, and the accomplishment of them shall be to the glory of God (2Co 1:20) for the glory of his rich and sovereign grace, and never-failing truth and faithfulness.

III. The apostle gives a good reason why he did not come to Corinth, as was expected, 2Co 1:23. It was that he might spare them. They ought therefore to own his kindness and tenderness. He knew there were things amiss among them, and such as deserved censure, but was desirous to show tenderness. He assures them that this is the true reason, after this very solemn manner: I call God for a record upon my soul - a way of speaking not justifiable where used in trivial matters; but this was very justifiable in the apostle, for his necessary vindication, and for the credit and usefulness of his ministry, which was struck at by his opposers. He adds, to prevent mistakes, that he did not pretend to have any dominion over their faith, 2Co 1:24. Christ only is the Lord of our faith; he is the author and finisher of our faith, Heb 12:2. He reveals to us what we must believe. Paul, and Apollos, and the rest of the apostles, were but ministers by whom they believed (1Co 3:5), and so the helpers of their joy, even the joy of faith. For by faith we stand firmly, and live safely and comfortably. Our strength and ability are owing to faith, and our comfort and joy must flow from faith.

Barclay: 2Co 1:23-24

Here is the echo of unhappy things. As we have seen in the introduction, the sequence of events must have been this. The situation in Corinth had gone from bad to worse. The Church was tom with party divisions and there were those who denied the authority of Paul. Seeking to mend matters, Paul had paid a flying visit to Corinth. So far from mending things, that visit had exacerbated them and had nearly broken his heart. In consequence he had written a very severe letter of rebuke, written with a sore heart and through tears. It was just for that very reason that he had not fulfilled his promise to visit them again, for, as things were, the visit could only have hurt him and them.

Behind this passage lies the whole heart of Paul when he had to deal in severity with those he loved.

(i) He used severity and rebuke very unwillingly. He used them only when he was driven to use them and there was nothing else left to do. There are some people whose eyes are always focussed to find fault, whose tongues are always tuned to criticize, in whose voice there is always a rasp and an edge. Paul was not like that. In this he was wise. If we are constantly critical and fault-finding, if we are habitually angry and harsh, if we rebuke far more than we praise, the plain fact is that even our severity loses its effect. It is discounted because it is so constant. The more seldom a man rebukes, the more effective it is when he does. In any event, the eyes of a truly Christian man seek ever for things to praise and not for things to condemn.

(ii) When Paul did rebuke, he did it in love. He never spoke merely to hurt. There can be sadistic pleasure in seeing someone wince at a sharp and cruel word. But Paul was not like that. He never rebuked to cause pain; he always rebuked to restore joy. When John Knox was on his deathbed he said, "God knows that my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of those against whom I thundered my severest judgments." It is possible to hate the sin but love the sinner. The effective rebuke is that given with the arm of love round the other person. The rebuke of blazing anger may hurt and even terrify; but the rebuke of hurt and sorrowing love alone can break the heart.

(iii) When Paul rebuked, the last thing he wanted was to domineer. In a modern novel, a father says to his son, "I'll beat the fear of the loving God into you." The great danger which the preacher and the teacher ever incur is of coming to think that our duty is to compel others to think exactly as we do and to insist that if they do not see things as we see them, they must be wrong. The duty of the teacher is not to impose beliefs on other people, but to enable and to encourage them to think out their own beliefs. The aim is not to produce a pale copy of oneself, but to create an independent human being. One who was taught by that great teacher, A. B. Bruce, said, "He cut the cables and gave us a glimpse of the blue waters." Paul knew that as a teacher he must never domineer, although he must discipline and guide.

(iv) Finally, for all his reluctance to rebuke, for all his desire to see the best in others, for all the love that was in his heart, Paul nonetheless does rebuke when rebuke becomes necessary. When John Knox rebuked Queen Mary for her proposed marriage to Don Carlos, at first she tried anger and outraged majesty and then she tried "tears in abundance." Knox's answer was, "I never delighted in the weeping of any of God's creatures. I can scarcely well abide the tears of my own boys, whom my own hand correcteth, much less can I rejoice in Your Majesty's weeping. But I must sustain, albeit unwillingly, Your Majesty's tears rather than I dare hurt my conscience, or betray my commonwealth through my silence." Not seldom we refrain from rebuke because of mistaken kindness, or because of the desire to avoid trouble. But there is a time when to avoid trouble is to store up trouble and when to seek for a lazy or cowardly peace is to court a still greater danger. If we are guided by love and by consideration, not for our own pride but for the ultimate good of others, we will know the time to speak and the time to be silent.

Constable: 2Co 1:12--8:1

II. ANSWERS TO INSINUATIONS ABOUT THE SINCERITY OF PAUL'S COMMITMENT TO THE CORINTHIANS AND TO THE MINISTRY 1:12--7:16

Second Corinthians is a rather difficult book to outline because it is a very personal letter.

"Traditionally, Paul's two letters to Timothy and one to Titus are called the Pastorals.' But 2 Corinthians has a strong claim to be recognized as the Pastoral Epistle par excellence, because it contains not pure' but applied' pastoralia."⁶³

Paul's purpose in writing was not to teach doctrine primarily, though he did so to a considerable extent. It was primarily to answer the criticisms of opponents who were seeking to undermine his ministry, especially in Corinth.

"Here it is his strong feeling rather than any deliberate arrangement that suggests the order of his utterances. Nevertheless, although exact analysis is seldom possible owing to digressions and repetitions, yet some divisions are fairly clear, and the letter becomes more intelligible when they are noted."⁶⁴

Constable: 2Co 1:12--2:5

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

In the present section (1:12-2:4) Paul sought to clarify the motives that led him to change his plans to visit the Corinthians. He did so to refute false accusations concerning him that were circulating in Corinth.

Constable: 2Co 1:23--2:5

The loving motivation of Paul's conduct 1:23-2:4

1:23 Paul's use of an oath should not disturb us.

"Our Lord's prohibition of swearing in Matt. 5:33ff. is directed against the casuistry that was prevalent among the Jews of His time, in accordance with which not only was swearing frequent in ordinary speech, but also oaths were regarded as not binding provided the Divine Name had not been invoked and even lies were condoned if unaccompanied by an oath. Such a situation was a grave scandal in the name of religion and truth."⁹⁰

Paul staked his soul on the truthfulness of his claim here.

He made his decision to postpone his visit because he believed a visit then would not be in the Corinthians' best interests.

"The gravity of his words indicates that Paul's absence from Corinth remained a matter of deep hurt."⁹¹

1:24 The preceding statement indicates that Paul took much responsibility for the Corinthians' welfare on himself. He hastened to clarify that it was as an apostle, not their lord, that he regarded himself and behaved toward them as he did (cf. 1 Pet. 5:1, 3). Furthermore Paul recognized that they needed no human lord since they were comparatively solid in their faith.

2:1 The chapter division is artificial. Paul now clarified what he did mean in 1:23.

When had Paul come to them in sorrow? There is no valid basis for describing his first visit to Corinth during which he established the church as a sorrowful one. He had experienced some hard times during the 18 months (Acts 18:11) he was there, but generally this visit was pleasant. Paul later referred to his next visit to Corinth as his third (12:14; 13:1). Consequently we have reference here to a second visit not recorded in the Book of Acts. The commentators disagree over whether it took place before or after the writing of 1 Corinthians. I believe the evidence indicates it took place after that writing.⁹²

Note that Paul "determined" not to come again in sorrow. This is not the language of a vacillator.

2:2 Who could make Paul glad if he came to them and made them sorrowful? No one could. The Corinthians certainly could not since he would have made them sorrowful. Paul's point was that if he came to them and made them sorrowful again he himself would be sorrowful since they were his source of joy. Consequently he decided to postpone his visit. Evidently if Paul had come to them as originally planned he would have had to rebuke or discipline them for some situation that existed in the church. Instead of doing this and producing sorrow he decided to wait and give them an opportunity to deal with the problem themselves.

2:3 Now Paul referred to a previous letter in which he said he told them he would not come to them again in sorrow. Is this a reference to 1 Corinthians?

Some commentators believe it is.⁹³ Nevertheless the lack of an explicit reference to not coming to them again in sorrow in that epistle throws some doubt on this interpretation.

Consequently other commentators have posited the existence of another letter. They believe it was similar to the former letter referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9 in that it is no longer extant, and that Paul spoke of it here.⁹⁴ This letter is a fairly recent invention by the commentators. Traditionally interpreters have understood the reference to be to 1 Corinthians. However the problem with that view as mentioned above is significant (cf. 7:8).

The identification of the letter referred to here does not affect the interpretation of Paul's words here however important it may be for other reasons. His reference to this former letter simply strengthens his point made in verse 2 that when he came to visit them again he wished to be a source of joy, not sorrow. He wanted them to make him joyful too.

"This does not mean merely that it would give them pleasure to see him happy, but also that obedience on their part, and the consequent purity and prosperity of the church, were as necessary to their happiness as to his."⁹⁵

2:4 Paul's affliction was probably the one referred to above (1:8-11). His anguish of heart doubtless arose both from his affliction and the condition of the Corinthian church. This verse is one of several in this epistle that gives us a window into the heart of the great apostle. Second Corinthians is one of the most personal of Paul's epistles. R. Dykes Shaw spoke for many students of this book when he wrote the following words.

"The chief element of value in this ep. [epistle] is the revelation it gives of the apostle himself."⁹⁶

Clearly Paul claimed that love for the Corinthians moved him to write the severe letter. He wanted to make them repentant and consequently joyful, not oppressed and sorrowful. He wept over them. Doubtless he wept again when he learned that his readers had misunderstood his best intentions.

"This passage, as Denney says, reveals, more clearly perhaps than any passage in the New Testament, the essential qualification of the Christian minister--a heart pledged to his brethren in the love of Christ. . . . Depend upon it,' he counsels, we shall not make others weep for that for which we have not wept; we shall not make that touch the hearts of others which has not first touched our own.'"⁹⁷

"When the offender is made to feel that, while his sin is punished, he himself is loved; and that the end aimed at is not his suffering but his good, he is the more likely to be brought to repentance. Every pastor must see in the apostle's love for the Corinthians, and in the extreme sorrow with which he exercised discipline, in the case of offenders, an instructive example for his imitation."⁹⁸

"In a manner that calls to mind Jesus' forgiveness of those who caused him pain at the time of the crucifixion (Luke 23:34), Paul responded with a deep expression of overflowing love for those who had failed him."⁹⁹

Note that Paul had a special affection for the Corinthian believers.

"His love for them was more abundant, or greater, than that which he had for any other church. This view is borne out by numerous other passages in these two epistles, which go to show that Paul's love for the Corinthian church was, for some reason, peculiarly strong."¹⁰⁰

Paul's example helps Christian leaders learn how to rebuke when we must. He used severity and rebukes very reluctantly. When he did rebuke he did it without domineering. He did it with love in his heart and desire to see the best in those whom he rebuked. Nonetheless he did it when it was necessary.¹⁰¹

It is often difficult to give up our plans, especially if much prayer and deliberation have gone into the planning. What makes this even more difficult is the possibility of our being misunderstood by others when we make changes. Notwithstanding, God often leads us just one step at a time. We must be willing to alter our plans if it is in the best interests of others and the gospel to do so.

"If you live to please people, misunderstandings will depress you; but if you live to please God, you can face misunderstandings with faith and courage."¹⁰²

College: 2Co 1:1-24

2 CORINTHIANS 1

I. OPENING (1:1-2)

Paul opens his letters with the typical formula of first-century Greek correspondence by first naming the author, then the recipients, followed by a greeting. His tendency to expand these basic components in all his letters reflects his own personal style and is not at all common in other Greek documents. Also, the length of his letters (other than Philemon) is unusual, vastly exceeding the norm, which 2 and 3 John exemplify. Carefully inspecting Paul's expansions of the formula's components generally reaps early dividends for understanding what major concerns are eating at him as he begins a letter. Second Corinthians offers such rewards, too.

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Paul often identifies himself as "an apostle" in the opening of his letters, as he does in Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Colossians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, but he doesn't always (Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon). Standard observation regarding this phenomenon is that Paul announces his apostolic status to emphasize his authority in situations where it has been called into question. Galatians is the benchmark, but such is no less the case regarding 2 Corinthians, which from beginning to end is about Paul regaining his status in the eyes of the Corinthians. The word "apostle" itself recurs five more times in 2 Corinthians (8:23; 11:5,13; 12:11,12), but it underlies the entire epistle.

Paul views his calling as an apostle "by the will of God" the singular focal point of his life, a phrase he repeats identically from 1 Corinthians 1:1. Paul readily admits that his initial call was unconventional in that it occurred after Christ's death and resurrection, but he proclaims that he was indeed commissioned personally by the risen Christ himself on the Damascus road, probably about 23 years previous to writing 2 Corinthians (Gal 1:15-18; Acts 9:1-15). Also unconventional was Paul's specific mission to Gentiles, non-Jews (Acts 9:15; Rom 11:3; Gal 1:16), which he undertook with the same ferocity he had employed when he persecuted the church, having assisted in Stephen's stoning (Acts 8:1) and having flaunted Jewish warrants for the arrest of Christians (Acts 9:1).

Paul's success among Gentiles made him enemies who dogged his trail sowing seeds of suspicion among his new converts regarding his claims to be a legitimate apostle. Very aware of doubters in Corinth, already in 1 Cor 9:2, Paul insists that he meets every criteria for being an apostle, principally, having seen the risen Christ (1 Cor 9:1; 15:8-9; Acts 1:22) so he can bear personal witness of it to skeptics. Paul also points to the way God has blessed his missionary enterprise with success. As with other local congregations now dotting Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, Paul designates that the Corinthians themselves "are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord" (1 Cor 9:2). This point he will continue to press in 2 Corinthians. Among many other important points, he will also call the Corinthian's attention to "signs, wonders, and miracles" he did among them as "things that mark an apostle" (2 Cor 12:12).

When Paul offers credentials of his apostolic commission, he by no means thinks of this as some personal achievement. He insists that he is "compelled" (1 Cor 9:7), ordained "from birth" (Gal 1:15), fully impelled and blessed by God's grace (1 Cor 15:9-11; Gal 1:15), not at all empowered by any of his own ability. If that were the case, he would still be persecuting Christians, what he now considers the shame of his life. Payback for this period of his life forever haunts him in the form of fellow Christians who seek to slash at his ministry.

The insistent will of God calls him to his role as an apostle for the church. In his mind, neither resistance nor obedience are even involved. He is what God has made him to be. Most ministers today feel the same way about why they are in the ministry. They know God has put them there, and they will serve him.

As he does here, Paul consistently describes himself in the NT as an apostle "of Christ Jesus." Although normally in this situation he employs the order "Jesus Christ," his combination of "Jesus" and "Christ" in either order is fairly even. Invariably when he adds Lord to the combination, it comes out "Lord Jesus Christ." "Christ" first, as here, emphasizes the messianic, kingly role of Jesus. After 2000 years of Christian history, we naturally assume that an apostle is an apostle of Christ. However, the word "apostle" has usage prior to the NT. One could be an apostle of Zeus, for example. An apostle is like an ambassador, sent by a king or a god to carry a message to a group of people, an official representative mediating his authority. Paul has been called by God to be Christ's ambassador to Gentiles carrying the saving message of the gospel.

and Timothy, our brother,

Paul names Timothy, not as a coauthor but as a cosender of this letter to the Corinthians. Unmistakably, the letter is written by Paul, despite occasional use of first person plurals. Timothy, who is with Paul when he writes the letter, helped Paul establish the Corinthian church, along with Silas (2 Cor 1:9; Acts 18:5). Already a Christian when Paul arrived in his home town of Lystra during the second missionary tour (very likely converted on the first missionary tour), Timothy joined Paul's missionary band and travelled with him from then on (Acts 16:1-3). A strong, emotional bond developed between the two (Phil 2:22). Paul earlier had dispatched Timothy to Corinth to represent him (1 Cor 4:17), possibly delivering 1 Corinthians. However, the NT is silent on whether Timothy actually made it to Corinth on that occasion (if he didn't carry 1 Corinthians).

Some combine the silence on this subject with the indications of his timidity (1 Tim 4:12; 2 Tim 1:7; 2:1) and Paul's sending of Titus, not Timothy, with the Severe Letter and with 2 Corinthians as an indication that Timothy did go back to Corinth on Paul's behalf but failed miserably. Mentioning him here as "our brother" to the Corinthians is seen, then, as a public demonstration of Paul's complete confidence in Timothy despite his lack of success with the Corinthians. More likely, however, none of this is in view, and Paul simply mentions Timothy because they know him and he is with Paul. Paul mentions Timothy as cosender in just this way also in Phil 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1; Phlm 1; Col 1:1, and 2 Thess 1:1, more than any other person.

Paul designates Timothy as "our brother" (ajdelfov", adelphos ) to distinguish Timothy's role from his own as apostle. Although the plural "brethren" in the NT is used generically to represent Christian believers, the singular "brother" or "sister" specifies Paul's coworkers, people with significant levels of responsibility and trust.

To the church of God in Corinth,

Paul normally uses "church" (ejkklhsiva, ekklçsia) in a local sense like this. The word itself, used to describe a public assembly in Greek culture, required further definition as Paul has given it here. The fact that it is found in the Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT done in the third century B.C.) to translate the Hebrew lhq ( qahal ) in phrases like "the assembly of the Lord" (Num 16:3), referring to the people of Israel, leads some to believe that from this derives the concept of the universal church as the true people of God. However, more likely, as the church expanded, the local, congregational concept of the church developed into the concept of the universal church, prominently observable in Ephesians.

Paul customarily refers to a church as "of God" rather than "of Christ," as he does here, although he does call Christ the head of the church (Eph 5:23). Despite Christ's responsibility for the church, he views the origin and continued existence of a church as coming from God as he draws people together who have faith in Jesus Christ and cultivates them into the body of Christ. For Corinth, whose citizens clamored for esteem as patrons of buildings and social clubs, Paul's designating the Christians in Corinth as the church of God, may well be intended by Paul to disallow anyone but God himself to be recognized as the Great Benefactor of the church.

together with all the saints throughout Achaia:

Paul widens the local address of the letter beyond Corinth. Strictly speaking, since A.D. 27, Rome had designated all of modern-day Greece except Macedonia to be Achaia. Probably, though, Paul has in mind Christians who live in the area immediately outlying Corinth, who would have regular contact with them, and be influenced by similar problems. We know a church existed in Cenchrea, only six miles from Corinth, since Phoebe, the bearer of Romans, is said to come from that church (Rom 16:1). Other churches must have existed in the area surrounding Corinth which we just don't know about. Athens, where we know Christians existed (Acts 17:34), is too far away and so distinctive from Corinth that it must not have been included.

Paul regularly uses "saints" to refer to fellow believers, though never in the singular to honor anyone specially. It translates the plural of "holy" (aJgivo", hagios ) which refers to someone "separated" from others. The Septuagint uses the word in the plural to refer to the people of Israel as separated to God. Other Jewish literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, uses "holy ones" to refer to a smaller band of those selected to inherit the messianic kingdom. NT usage relates to both of these uses. Just as the word implies ritual purity for Jews as God's people, it implies moral purity for Christians.

1:2 Grace and peace to you from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The traditional greeting used in Greek letters, the infinitive cai'rein ( chairein ), is changed in all NT letters to cavri" ( charis ), "grace." The change puts all blessings under the banner of God's love for humankind. Some use of "grace" in Jewish correspondence makes it possible that the change is not invented by Christians but rather adapted from Jewish use. Regardless, using the added word, "peace" (eijrhvnh, eirçnç) which translates "shalom" in the Septuagint, is most certainly Jewish, still used in Jewish greetings even today. For Christians, though, peace encompasses what Christ accomplished on the cross not only in relation to our alienation from God due to our sin but in relation to one another as both Jews and Greeks become united in the church (Eph 2:11-22).

The combination of the two words carries fundamental Christian overtones. That Paul conveys these blessings equally "from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" is entirely appropriate since each is involved in the Christian significance of the words. Balancing the status of God with that of Christ also implies Christ's divinity.

II. THANKSGIVING (1:3-11)

A. GOD COMFORTS (1:3-7)

All of Paul's letters conform to the conventional Greek pattern of inserting words of thanksgiving for the recipients of the letter between the opening and the body. The only exception is Galatians which substitutes a blistering censure. Second Corinthians retains the essential spirit of thanksgiving. However, it alters the thanksgiving for the recipients to a general blessing to God for his specific work, primarily in aiding Paul but also the Corinthian church, in their troubles.

1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

"Blessed" is more appropriate for the opening word rather than "praise" (eujloghtov", eulogçtos) since Paul is borrowing the word from common liturgy used by Jews in their synagogue worship. Paul expects that his letter will be read publicly in the Corinthian house-churches and scripts an appropriate call to worship. Though no verb follows "blessed," most translations quite rightly adopt "be" due to the worship context rather than "is."

The identification of "God" as "Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" occurs elsewhere in 1 Cor 11:31; Rom 11:31; Eph 1:3; and 1 Pet 1:3 and makes the doxology particularly Christian. The NT concept of God's fatherhood of Christ helps us grasp their relationship by drawing upon human analogies, particularly in terms of Jesus' human life on earth. However, John 1:1-18 stipulates that Christ was at no time created but has always been "with God." Paul's emphasis on God's fatherhood here includes God's parental agony in watching his own Son suffer innocently and die an excruciating death on behalf of the world. It also must include God's dramatic rescue of Christ by resurrecting him from the dead and exalting him to the Father's side.

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

The reader is reminded that the truth of this statement has already been forcefully displayed by God in Christ. The point of what God did in Christ comes from God's compassion on the hopeless sinful state in which everyone lives apart from Christ. The language used for "compassion" actually is plural and is translated "mercies" (oijktirmw'n, oiktirmôn) by the NASB. This again comes from Jewish synagogue prayer, found also in Exod 34:6, Ps 25:6, and Ps 69:16. The addition of "all" before "comfort" also has the ring of worship language.

"Comfort" introduces the word which dominates the rest of the paragraph through verse seven, found as a noun (paravklhsi", paraklçsis) six times and as a verb (parakalevw, parakaleô) four times. It will be used five more times as a noun and twelve more times as a verb in 2 Corinthians. The word can mean "comfort," "encourage," or even "exhort," depending on the context, even in 2 Corinthians. It also has significance as a word associated with the messianic hope (Luke 2:25), particularly in places such as this which contemplate relief from the hardships of Christian suffering. "Comfort" balances the heavy use of "suffering" (pavqhmo", pathçmos), used three times in the paragraph, and "troubles" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) also used three times (nine times in 2 Cor). Paul views God as watching over his children, totally aware of their suffering, embracing them and delivering them through it all.

1:4 who comforts us in all our troubles,

The Greek construction suggests that first Paul contemplates the specific problems he experienced in Asia (described more specifically in 1:8-11) when he says "in all our troubles" before referring to the unspecified situations of "those in any trouble" whom God has equipped him to help. The word "troubles" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) can mean "crush," in its verbal form in Classical Greek and has this sense in Mark 3:9. Often used to describe the effects of war, the traumatic misery, both emotional and physical, created by outside forces of various types usually is in view. In the NT, the word usually has eschatological implications as it probably does here, particularly because of Jesus' use of it in Matt 24:21 and Mark 13:19.

Paul's use of plural pronouns is a notorious difficulty in the study of 2 Corinthians. In over 200 occurrences, the student must decide whether he refers to himself alone, called the editorial "we," or includes others. If he includes others, how wide a band does he have in mind? Is it just his cosenders and other associates with him, the apostles, the Corinthian believers, all Christians, or all humanity. In 1:3-7, Paul must distinguish between his own troubles and those of the Corinthians in order to emphasize their dynamic relationship. However, in 1:4-5, the principle he pronounces applies to all Christians. In 1:6-7, as he applies the principle to his relationship with the Corinthians, the plural pronouns exclude the Corinthians and narrow to himself and his missionary band.

so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

Paul emphasizes the expanse of God's comfort as being total by using "all" three times in 1:3 with "all comfort," and in 1:4 with "all our troubles" and "any trouble." No gaps or weaknesses exist in God's capacity to aid his children to cope effectively with even the most horrific tragedies which confront them as they stand for his name. From a pastoral perspective, this is a crucial observation. Just knowing this is true may well be a beginning point for the comfort someone needs.

Purpose and result sometimes are difficult to distinguish. Is the effect of an action preordained or does it just follow naturally? The construction Paul uses in 1:4 with "so that" usually specifies purpose. Paul, then, injects the hardship Christians suffer with divine purpose in 1:4. At least one purpose is to be able to comfort other Christians in their suffering. Paul contemplates this truth in terms of his own experience qualifying him to comfort the Corinthians as a model. However, he views this as a principle of God's operation on a massive scale with all Christians, as he will explain in more detail with the verses that follow.

Paul's concept of mutual comfort should not be equated with commiseration. This is not "misery loves company" but rather shared confidence in God's power to deliver from and overcome the misery of suffering for Christ. God makes it possible for Christians to instill in one another the steadfast endurance to remain faithful no matter the hardship.

1:5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

As indicated by the opening conjunction "for" (o{ti, hoti ), 1:5 explains how this happens. The focal point is "the sufferings of Christ." Paul views these as being in surplus. This is not just because Christ suffered so severely on the cross but because he was innocent. The injustice of his suffering, physically and spiritually, makes all of it excess. This Paul sees as spilling over onto believers because of their identification with Christ which begins at baptism (Romans 6). In addition, messianic suffering from a Jewish point of view refers to the birth-pangs through which the messianic age would emerge (Isa 26:17; 66:8; Jer 22:23; Hos 13:13; Micah 4:9-10). In Matt 24:8 (Mark 13:8) Jesus assumes this but applies it to the persecution of believers that will occur in the interim period before his Second Coming. This also influences Paul's ideas here.

Paul contends that a chain reaction is in effect. As the surplus of Christ's suffering continues to overflow into his life, so also the overflow of Christ's comfort more than matches it. Thus, the result strengthens and builds confidence rather than causing him to succumb. The excess of Christ's comfort in his own life in turn supplies what he needs to comfort others like the Corinthians. Although he speaks with his own specific circumstances in mind, the principle applies to all believers. Christ is more than sufficient to provide the strength Christians need to endure challenges to their faith and to mutually strengthen one another.

1:6 If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;

The first person plural pronoun "we" distinguishes Paul and his coworkers from "you," the Corinthian believers. The paired use of "if" (ei[te, eite ) should not be taken literally. Real, life-threatening persecution in Asia rather than hypothetical affliction dominates Paul's thought here. He simply carves out the relevant principle in 1:6-7 before describing the specific example of it as it applies to himself and the Corinthians in 1:8-11.

Paul proposes that his personal affliction has tangible results for the Corinthians and others like them. He views his apostolic lifestyle of bringing the gospel to the unevangelized as a rocky road full of hardship for himself. What makes it all worthwhile is knowing that those who receive the gospel he proclaims reap the benefits of "comfort" and "salvation." Salvation for Paul means deliverance from God's condemning judgment (Rom 1:16; 1 Thess 5:8-9). By pairing it with "comfort," he extends its meaning here to include the emotional freedom that receiving the gospel brings to a person's life. Believers are not just saved from judgment but are also released to a new life of confident assurance and purpose to their lives. Including "comfort" here also maintains conformity with the other nine uses of it in the paragraph.

Paul also maintains that the comfort he receives from Christ also benefits believers like the Corinthians. They win out either way, whether Paul suffers or is comforted. The comfort Christ supplies him in the face of affliction makes it possible for him to continue on the road with the gospel. Without this divine comfort, he would long ago have succumbed to the emotional and physical damage inflicted on him for the sake of the gospel. However, Christ gives him comfort to overcome these powerful forces against him to stay on the road and continue to bring the gospel to the unevangelized.

if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer.

The overflow of Christ's comfort for Paul further overflows into the lives of believers "for your comfort." Not only does Paul continue to preach the gospel, but his own deliverance time and time again from trouble exhibits the fact that Christ can do the same in the lives of other believers when they become targets of persecution for the sake of the gospel. Real comfort is not protection from trouble but sustenance through trouble. Easing of emotional and spiritual pain may be part of it, but most importantly it results in an outcome that is easily measurable. Does the believer maintain commitment to Christ through it all or not? For Paul, "comfort" energizes "patient endurance" (uJpomonhv, hypomonç) in the believer. The word translated "which produces" (ejnergoumevnh", energoumençs) means to effect or make something happen. Probably passive in this context, it most likely assumes that the same divine comfort Paul receives also is the power which energizes all believers to endure affliction.

When Paul says that the Corinthians endure "the same sufferings we suffer," he does not mean that the Corinthians are being persecuted in the same way or by the same people Paul has just experienced in Asia. He may not even mean that the Corinthians currently experience persecution at all, even though it is very possible that the Jews are still giving them trouble. What he means is any trouble they might have, currently or in the future, is part of "the sufferings of Christ" just like his troubles are. This will be clearer in 1:7.

1:7 And our hope for you is firm,

Paul declares his unshakable confidence in the Corinthians' endurance employing the commercial term for guarantee which the NIV translates as "firm" (bevbaio", bebaios ). Given Paul's volcanic history with the Corinthians, this is remarkable. However, Paul's certitude is not based on the Corinthians themselves but rather on Christ's provision of comfort to see them through difficulty. When Paul speaks of "our hope," he does not mean "wish," but as usual for him, asserts his assuredness based on objective data, this being his own experience of comfort from Christ and the overall reliability of Christ's resurrection power.

because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.

Because the sufferings and comfort of Christ affect both Paul and the Corinthians, he can also say that they are partners together in sufferings and in comfort. Paul employs a word related to koinwniva (koinônia), or "fellowship," to convey this. The word used, koinwnoiv (koinônoi), refers to people who "share" something, as the NIV has, or partners. Paul uses this word group more than any other NT writer to convey such vital concepts as the participation of believers in Christ (1 Cor 1:9), the Holy Spirit (2 Cor 13:13; Phil 2:1), the gospel (Phil 1:5,7; Phlm 5,17; Rom 11:17; 1 Cor 9:23), and as here, in the sufferings of Christ (Phil 3:10). Later, 2 Cor 8:23, he will also call Titus his partner.

Paul, then, views himself as providing comfort to the Corinthians, but they are doing the same for him. They do this by enduring in their faith and by supporting him in his afflictions. At the moment, it might seem like this all has to do with Paul's problems in Asia. Really, however, Paul is laying the groundwork for the Corinthians' remaining loyal to him amidst the conflicts with the Corinthians themselves. Will they continue to comfort him or will they abandon him amidst the fire of his opponents among them?

The mutuality of comfort is crucial for believers still today, especially in relationship to leadership in the church.

B. GOD DELIVERS (1:8-11)

From considering the mutuality of comfort in principle, Paul moves to a specific instance in his life which binds the Corinthians to him and which has demonstrated indisputably God's power to deliver believers, even from death. On rhetorical grounds, especially the use of the disclosure formula (We do not want you to be uninformed), good arguments are made for viewing this section as opening the body of the letter. However, the thematic tie with 1:3-7 is simply too vital to warrant such a major break yet. Granted, Paul's approach to thanksgiving here is different in that he magnifies the church's intercessory prayers for him rather than his prayers of thanksgiving for the church (Rom 1:8; 1 Thess 1:2, for example). Nevertheless, it's close enough to view this section as formally equivalent to Paul's normal thanksgiving section which typically concludes the introductory remarks and bridges into the body of his letters.

1:8 We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

Paul presumes that the Corinthians have heard of the incident he has in mind, either by way of Titus, the bearer of 2 Corinthians, or maybe even Timothy, whom Paul had sent to them earlier (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10-11). However, he doubts they know of the severity of the crisis for him personally, the spiritual crossroads it was for him, and how important their prayers for him were in his mortal and spiritual deliverance. It's this personal side of the story that is so relevant to his teaching point about suffering, comfort, and God's deliverance. Paul zooms quickly in on the traumatic significance of the experience, thereby leaving the details fuzzy. So, most assuredly, identifying the incident as occurring "in the province of Asia" is enough for the Corinthians to know exactly what he is talking about, even if it is not enough for us today.

Paul tightens the circle on what he means by "we" in this paragraph. Because he has moved from principle in 1:3-7 to specific incident here in 1:8-11 upon which he reflects personally, there is no certainty that even his small band of missionary assistants is still in view. This is why it is possible to associate this specific trauma with an illness which nearly killed him and connect this whole paragraph with the "thorn in the flesh" Paul talks about in 2 Cor 12:7.

However, Paul's use of "hardships" (qli'yi", thlipsis ) detracts from this identification. It is the same word translated "troubles" in 1:4 which is not usually associated with illness but with harm from outside forces. Also, an illness in and of itself, however severe, hardly stands up as a good example of sharing in the sufferings of Christ (1:5). Finally, this does not adequately account for why Paul names the place of occurrence, Asia, as the only external signal for this trauma.

Naming Asia prompts one to look for an observable, social incident when Paul and his missionary associates ran into trouble, which might have affected him more deeply than the Corinthians could possibly have known previously. Eyes are drawn to the city of Ephesus, really the only Asian city of consequence that Paul visited during his second and third missionary journeys. He stayed in Ephesus more than two years (Acts 19:8-10). It is also while Paul is in Ephesus that he monitors the Corinthian situation, writing three letters (the Previous Letter, 1 Corinthians, and the Severe Letter), making one visit (the Painful Visit), and sending two of his best associates (Timothy and Titus). However one takes Paul's reference to having "fought wild beasts in Ephesus," mentioned in 1 Cor 15:32, this reference further underscores the fact that the trauma Paul refers to took place in Ephesus.

That Paul and his associates were involved in at least one traumatic incident in Ephesus is documented in detail in Acts 19:23-41. Silversmiths who, among other things, crafted and sold idols of Artemis, became distraught that their trade was noticeably declining because so many were becoming Christians through Paul's influence. Demetrius rallied an angry mob, seized two of Paul's associates, and took over the theater, seemingly threatening violence. Public officials eventually calmed and dispersed the crowd. But it's not just pagan Gentiles who threatened Paul in Ephesus. Irate Jews dogged Paul from beginning to end in Ephesus, as indicated by Acts 19:9,13-16. In Acts 20:19, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders in his departure speech that throughout his time with them he was "severely tested by the plots of the Jews."

Is it the mob action of the silversmiths Paul has in mind? If so, Acts has not captured the severity of the situation the way Paul remembers it because Paul was not even one of the ones seized by the mob. Did the Ephesian Jews threaten Paul's life in some way unrecorded in Acts? Perhaps Paul wound up in jail in Ephesus at some point surrounding the silversmith incident or some other incident not mentioned in Acts. Time to contemplate his fate, to calculate the "great pressure" he and is colleagues were under, seems required, which the riot incident would not seem to afford. Although an Ephesian imprisonment is often conjectured, the evidence for this is not substantial. Could the traumatic situation with Jews in Ephesus who adamantly opposed the gospel have triggered Paul's deepest fear which surfaces elsewhere at Rom 9:2; 10:1, that his fellow countrymen, the very people of the Messiah, will in the end reject Christ?

Any adamant answer overreaches the evidence. However, it's probably most reasonable to go with what is known, the riot recounted in Acts. It must be assumed that there was much more to this than Acts says: that it unfolded over a period of more than a few days, only culminating in one riotous incident, and that Paul's life was threatened in some fashion during those days that Acts simply doesn't choose to include in its narrative.

"Brothers" (ajdelfoiv, adelphoi ), it should be pointed out, refers to all the believers in the Corinthian church, male and female. "Great pressure" (barevw, bareô) conjures up the image of a ship with excessive cargo weighing it down precariously listing from side to side. "Despaired" (ejxaporevw, exaporeô) conveys the picture of trying to escape danger down a path which abruptly dead ends. Paul is saying that external circumstances in this instance overwhelmed him so much that he felt the despair of hopelessness. He had slammed into a brick wall. All seemed lost. Things couldn't get any worse. He wasn't even sure if he would live beyond this point. As most believers learn sooner or later, it is at such point that God becomes most real.

1:9 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

"In our hearts" further emphasizes the interior dynamics involved. Thus "the sentence of death" should not be taken as a clue that Paul has in view an actual court trial at which he had received some sort of sentence. Further, the term for "sentence" (ajpovkrima, apokrima ) more technically involves an official's response to a petition or inquiry, as when a death row inmate appeals to the governor to stay his execution. Recognizing his desperate straits, Paul indicates that he petitioned God to intervene on his behalf and that he imagined the answer to be "No!" Paul was broken to the core of his being. Where is his faith when God does not seem to be there? This is the ageless question addressed in the book of Job which all believers must face. Can we face even death with faith?

Paul shares what he now realizes was the real spiritual dynamic going on in his despair. As Job discovered before him, God was there with him all along. He wasn't alone. God had allowed external circumstances to create a spiritual trauma in Paul's life that would strip him naked, down to the core of his being, force him to rely upon God alone, and, then, God could rebuild him from scratch, step by step into a powerful man of faith, who would never, ever waver again. "Rely" (peivqw, peithô), also used in 2:3 and 10:7, has to do with confidence. Paul will be confident in himself no longer.

Why should he? All the power is in God, even to overturn what seems like certain death. He can and will rescue those who believe in him, as he has proven over and over again. Paul's mention of God being one "who raises the dead" certainly points to the resurrection as the foundation of Christian faith. However, it goes beyond that as exemplified in Romans 4:17-6:14, where Paul notes how God brings life from death not only in salvation and in baptism for the Christian but also how God got the ball rolling by bringing the life of Isaac out of the dead womb of Sarah. The second prayer of the Eighteen Benedictions, probably recited by Paul himself, which Jews pray even today, declares that God "makes the dead to live." Such principal truth about God abounds in Scripture, from the deliverance of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, to Ezekiel 37's visual prophecy of the dry bones which came to life, to the coming of the Messiah, and, of course, in God's creation of the world from nothing and man from dust.

1:10 He has delivered from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us,

The theme for this verse is God's deliverance. Three times Paul employs the word "deliver" (rJuvomai, rhyomai ), both in the past tense (once) and in the future tense (twice). It is the same word found in the Lord's Prayer for "deliver us from the evil one" (Matt 6:13). Second Timothy 4:17 uses it to speak of Paul being "delivered from the lion's mouth," referring to his Roman trial. Although the word itself does not require it, Paul always connects it to God's power, whether it be God's deliverance from sin (Rom 7:24; 11:26; Col 1:13; 1 Thess 1:10) or, as here, deliverance from the evil designs of men (Rom 15:31; 2 Thess 3:2; 2 Tim 3:11). In 2 Tim 4:18, Paul, as here, expresses unswerving confidence in God's delivering hand from whatever peril he might encounter, even death.

Paul's enduring confidence was forged upon the experience he refers to here, which has been permanently etched into his life. God rescued him from what he thought was going to be certain death, "such a deadly peril," This, he will never forget. Upon this experience, he builds a life of unswerving faith, no matter the challenge. Paul peers over the pages of the text at fellow believers, then and now, when he reiterates "he will deliver us ." This is what God does, and confidence in this singular character trait of his is essentially what faith is. Like Paul, we "have set our hope" (the verbal form of the same word as in 1:7) "on him," because only his mighty hand can rescue us from evil, whether evil perpetrated against us or our own sinful evil which warrants our death.

1:11 as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our ^a behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of the many.

^a 11 Many manuscripts your

Paul believes that the regular intercession of the Corinthians (as well as other believers) contributed toward his deliverance on that traumatic occasion in Ephesus and that their continued intercession will make the difference in future situations of peril. Their prayer ties them to his ministry and whatever success it has. This is a somewhat unusual way for Paul to thank them for their prayers. However, such affirmation of the Corinthians' mutual ministry with him should help close the rift with them which spawns this letter.

Paul, then, views God's divine intervention as triangular, involving God's ability to deliver, his own petition to God, and prayerful intercession of the church on his behalf to God. Further, when the church recognizes that God has acted in response to their prayers, it is moved to further prayer, prayer of thanksgiving and further intercession that God will do even more through the servant who is the object of their continual intercession.

"Many," more literally, is "many faces." Although the word "face" (provswpon, prosôpon) can be used simply to refer to a person, here Paul seems to envisage a sea of faces, the church, lifted upward in prayer toward God because of him and on his behalf. By delivering Paul, the church is further inspired toward faith in God's delivering power and wants to see what more God can do through him. Such a spiraling of faith in the church invigorates Paul all the more to be God's ambassador for the gospel, whatever the peril, pain, and despair he must face. "Gracious favour" (cavrisma, charisma ) would appear, then, to refer to Paul's apostolic gift and how the church's prayers help him develop it through trying circumstances.

"Many" may indicate that Paul is aware not all of the Corinthians are praying for him since he seems to be out of favor with some. However, it may only indicate that Paul realizes not everyone prays at the same time. Nevertheless, "many" does signify the importance of numbers. "A few," it seems, would not be so powerful in its effect, not only on God, but on being an encouragement to Paul.

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY (1:12-2:13)

With this section Paul begins the body of his letter to the Corinthians. Paul views himself almost as if he were in court defending himself against charges of fraud and corruption regarding his relationships with them. Notice how Paul essentially takes the oath in 1:12-14 and then proceeds to tell his side of the story concerning the change in his travel plans. Paul's opponents in Corinth seem to have convinced many that his shifting travel plans are evidence that he has been manipulating the Corinthians all along for his own self-interest and that he has no honest feelings for them. Very likely, Titus brought Paul's attention to this lingering problem with the Corinthians upon meeting up with Paul in Macedonia (2:13) after delivering the Severe Letter and dealing with the fallout from Paul's Painful Visit. No doubt, he influenced Paul to deal immediately with this remaining and potentially disastrous breach in Paul's relationship with the Corinthians.

A. CLARITY SOUGHT (1:12-14)

1:12 Now this is our boast:

Paul pledges that what he is about to write and everything he has said and written to the Corinthians has absolutely no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas. He has tried to be as straightforward as he is able.

He employs the word "boast" (kauvchsi", kauchçsis) to head this opening pledge. In no way does he consider himself to be bragging. Rather, with this word he underlines his confidence in the sight of God. From his connection of the day of the Lord Jesus with boasting in 1:14, Paul surely has in mind standing before the judgment seat of Christ, as all will (2 Cor 5:10), the motives of his heart being exposed, and receiving praise from God (1 Cor 4:5) for his conduct with the Corinthians. This is the first of 29 times that the word "boast" and others based on it will be used in 2 Corinthians. All told, Paul uses it 55 times in his correspondence. In 1 Corinthians (1:29; 3:21; 4:7; 5:6, for example), the word has mostly a negative sense, something people should not do because it is an offense against God,

Readers today should not be offended by the arrogance the word conveys to them here and elsewhere in 2 Corinthians. Paul talks in terms of his fulfilling his mission from God in a manner that God would be proud of him (2 Cor 10:13; 1 Cor 1:31). The Corinthians themselves have pushed him into this position of talking about himself and defending his behavior. If he does not, he fears they may be lost to the gospel. He uses kauchçsis to introduce the basis for his confidence before God.

Our conscience testifies

The first basis of his confidence lies with his conscience. The word "conscience" (suneivdhsi", syneidçsis), used also in the similar context of 1 Cor 4:4-6, is critical in Paul's writings. Not used in the OT or the gospels, Paul's use of the word, found 10 times in 1 Corinthians alone, dominates the NT. It is suggested that the word comes into Paul's vocabulary because of his dialogue with the Corinthians (revealed in 1 Corinthians) who, in the matter of eating meat offered to idols, show themselves to be thinking like many in Greek culture that personal conscience is the final arbiter of right and wrong. Such a view has influenced Western culture, too. Paul teaches, however, that conscience depends on knowledge (1 Cor 10:25-26), that a person's conscience is affected by sin, and that it must be held subordinate to and informed by the moral principles of God found in Scripture by which all will be judged.

As if it is a separate, unbiased observer of events, Paul calls his conscience to the stand as a witness in his defense, as he also does in Rom 9:1. Despite the NIV "testifies," the Greek word is the noun form for one who bears witness (martuvrion, martyrion ). Like a well-prepared lawyer, Paul exudes confidence regarding exactly what his conscience will testify. It will testify that his conduct has been exemplary in general, but especially so in his relationship with the Corinthians. The plural pronouns at this point are editorial. Paul, at this point has lost sight completely of any companions or apostles, which becomes even clearer in 1:13 when he uses "I" for the first time. This is about himself alone and his conduct with the Corinthians.

that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God.

The word "world" (kovsmo", kosmos ) has no negative implications here, though it can elsewhere (John 7:17). Paul refers to his conduct in daily human affairs with Christians and non-Christians alike. Paul's emphasis on his conduct with the Corinthians "especially" is needed here, but it indicates that Paul has been wary of their suspicious tendencies from the beginning. He may have in mind quite specifically his refusal to accept money from them, a matter he will take up in more detail later (2 Cor 12:13-14).

Paul recognizes that proper moral conduct comes from the influence of God's righteous character in his life. "Sincerity" (eijlikrineiva, eilikrineia ) refers to his pure motives, "holiness" (aJgiovth", hagiotçs) more than to the actual principles of his conduct as exemplified by God himself. God activates both.

Some manuscripts contain "frankness" (aJplovth", haplotçs) rather than "holiness" (hagiotçs) as translated in the NIV. The translations are divided, RSV and NASB agreeing with the NIV, but NRSV, NLT, TEV, and KJV opting for haplotçs. Certainly, haplotçs seems more appropriate to the context and is more characteristic of Paul (used also in 2 Cor 1:12; 8:2; 9:11,13; 11:3; Eph 8:5; Col 3:22; Rom 12:8). However, proponents of that reading do not adequately explain how anyone purposefully or accidentally would have introduced hagiotçs into a text which originally contained haplotçs. The fact that Paul modifies this characteristic as coming from God may help explain his choice of hagiotçs.

Paul reemphasizes that the reference point for his conduct has not been the mere standards of human culture and society but rather the standards of God. Paul considers human standards inordinately influenced by our sinful nature, "worldly" not being from kovsmo" ( kosmos ), as earlier, but from savrx ( sarx ), "flesh" in all its sinful connotations, so exposed by Paul prominently in Romans 7. Paul skewers the oxymoron of human "wisdom" from a Christian point of view in 1 Cor 1-2. "God's grace" (cavri", charis ) does not have so much to do with our salvation, as so often in Paul (Rom 3:24), but with Paul adopting the generous, sensitive, forgiving spirit exemplified so consistently by God in all his dealings with us.

1:13a For we do not write anything you cannot read or understand.

Paul now takes the stand in his own defense, offering corroborating testimony to that just sworn by his conscience, indicated by "for" (gavr, gar ). Focusing on his correspondence with them, he now states uncategorically that he has been as aboveboard as possible, making every effort to use plain, straightforward talk that can be understood by anyone (also 2 Cor 4:2). Using the present tense, "write" (gravfw, graphô), Paul testifies to the approach he has taken in his previous three letters to the Corinthians (the Previous Letter, 1 Corinthians, and the Severe Letter), is taking in this current letter, and takes in all the letters he writes to all the other churches as well.

The fact that Paul must state his conscious efforts at clarity so intensely suggests that his opponents at Corinth have used his letters as fodder for accusing him of sneaky deceptiveness so common among traveling philosophers (2 Cor 2:17). Paul's fear is that they will continue to do so with this letter (2 Cor 10:10-11).

Paul knows of his vulnerability on this score since the only reason he even refers to the Previous Letter in 1 Cor 5:9 is because it was misunderstood, and one big reason why he writes 2 Corinthians is because he fears the Painful Letter (2 Cor 2:3-4; 7:8-12) might still be misunderstood despite all of Titus's efforts to explain it. Indeed, 2 Peter 3:16 acknowledges that Paul's letters are "hard to understand" and that the careless misread them, which suggests that criticism about the readability of his letters stretches beyond Corinth.

Yet, Paul asserts honest clarity as his intention and purpose. Whether his letters, in fact, are "easy to understand" is a different matter. When he speaks of his letters being read (ajnaginwvskw, anaginôskô), he has in mind not that they are being read personally by each individual in Bible study but rather read aloud by the letter bearer to the whole church which has gathered to hear it (1 Thess 5:27 and Col 4:16). "Understand" (ejpiginwvskw, epiginoskô) suggests that the letters do not require the letter bearers to answer lots of questions for them to be understood.

1:13b-14 And I hope that, as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Notably, Paul switches to the first person singular for the first time, indicating that he has been thinking of himself, at least since 1:12. This will continue through 2:13. "Hope" (ejlpivzw, elpizô) does not bear the sense of salvation in Christ, so common with Paul (Rom 5:1-11), but a strong personal desire on his part. He sets the context against an eschatological backdrop when he refers to "the day of the Lord Jesus Christ." This day is the focus of eschatological expectation in the NT (1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 5:10; Phil 1:6-10; 2:16; 1 Thess 5:2; 2 Pet 3:10-12; Rev 16:14) and is equivalent to the "Day of the Lord" in the OT (Amos 5:18; Joel 2:1,11), anticipating divine assessment of every human being (1 Cor 4:4-5).

The NIV's reversal of "you will come to understand fully" and "you have understood us in part" is common in other translations (NEB, TEV). However, it obscures the possibility that Paul may be alluding to 1 Cor 13:9-12 in which Paul also speaks of understanding in part now but fully when all is complete. The Greek word tevlo" ( telos ) may not mean just "fully" but "end" (tevleio", teleios , "perfection," is used in 1 Cor 13:10) as registered in NASB, NRSV, and KJV. Such eschatological implications match the context. Perhaps, Paul hopes they will come to understand completely now, via this letter, but even if the letter does not succeed, they will understand in the end on the Day of the Lord when all will be revealed.

The "as" (kaqwv", kathôs, "just as" - NASB) then becomes more understandable too. Paul's expectation of their full understanding is based upon their partial understanding now. Partial understanding here is a plus not a minus. It's a necessary starting point. However, Paul's confidence that the Corinthians will "boast of us in the Day of the Lord Jesus" is founded upon his belief that Christ himself as well as other believers will fully inform them of his integrity of mission, not just with them but wherever he has gone as an apostle to introduce the gospel.

Currently, the Corinthians are not boasting about Paul's character but questioning it. Regardless, their boast in the end, on the Day of the Lord, will include appreciation not only that he brought them the gospel but also for the integrity of character he maintained with them even when they were doubtful. For Paul's part, he is already certain that he will boast before the Lord concerning the Corinthians, as he will of all the churches under his apostleship (1 Thess 2:19-20; Phil 2:16; 4:1; 1 Cor 15:31; 2 Cor 7:4). Like the parent of a teenager, he is proud of them (and knows he always will be), despite the fact that the relationship continues to have its ups and downs.

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED (1:15-17)

1:15 Because I was confident of this, I planned to visit you first so that you might benefit twice.

Paul remains on the stand as he continues testifying in his own defense. He reflects back on his motivations for altering the travel plans he first conveyed to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 16:5. Headquartering in Ephesus, he said his next visit to them would be the last leg of a trip which would take him by land through Macedonia. This would give him opportunity to stay with them "awhile" before he moved on to his next destination, unstated at that time. He outlines his second itinerary in 1:16, which involved traveling across the Aegean Sea from Ephesus to Corinth, then up to Macedonia by land, and finally back to Corinth, before sailing off to Jerusalem. Although he doesn't explain it here, the backdrop of this itinerary was the final collection of the offering he was bringing the Judean churches from the Gentile churches (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8-9).

Paul had no reservations about changing his itinerary because he believed his relationship with the Corinthians was strong enough for them to understand (reflecting 1:14) that he had their own best interests in mind and that he was operating out of his own open relationship with God (reflecting 1:12). Paul is the only NT writer to employ this word for "confident" (pepoivqhsi", pepoithçsis), using it four times in 2 Corinthians (1:15; 3:4; 8:22; 10:2) and two times elsewhere (Eph 3:12; Phil 3:4). Consistently, as here, he measures confidence not so much in people or in circumstances but in God who operates in and through both.

The fact that Paul put thought into his decision comes across in the word "planned." Although the word bouvlomai ( boulomai ) often refers simply to a person's desire or will, it can, as it does here, refer to decisions of the will after appropriate deliberation.

At first blush, Paul's explanation seems straightforward enough. The plus in his decision was that he would visit them twice, rather than just once. The word translated "benefit," however is the point of some discussion. It is, in fact, the word "grace" (cavri", charis ), which Paul also used in 1:12. Does it have deeper significance? Some have been persuaded that the benefit Paul has in mind is a practical one, two opportunities for the Corinthians to give to the collection Paul was gathering. From this, they would be twice "blessed" by God (NASB, TEV). This twist seems too self-serving as others have registered. More likely is that Paul, as in Romans 1:11-12, has in mind the unspecified, mutual, spiritual benefit which God would create from them being together twice.

1:16 I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and to come back to you from Macedonia, and then to have you send me on my way to Judea.

Paul focuses on his changed itinerary in detail, picking up the word "planned" ( boulomai ) from 1:15. Geographically, Corinth is not on the route to Macedonia from Ephesus since, after sailing the 150 miles directly across the Aegean Sea to Corinth, Paul will have to travel 300 miles north and then back to Corinth to go on to Judea. Overland, Paul's original itinerary, Paul would have taken him 600 miles up the coast of Asia Minor from Ephesus to arrive at Macedonia, and then another 300 miles from that region down to Corinth. In any case, the principal cities Paul planned to stop at in Macedonia were most likely Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, sites of churches he planted on his second missionary journey (Acts 16-17).

The reference to Judea signifies that what Paul has in mind for this trip is gathering and transporting the collection from the Gentile churches to the Judean Christians. His intentions, however the route, were to sail with the delegates and the money (Acts 20:1-4) from Corinth to Judea. When he mentions that he expects the Corinthians to "send me on my way" (propevmpw, propempô), he does not merely refer to a bon voyage at the dock as the ship sails away. Rather, as in Rom 14:24; 1 Cor 16:11, Titus 1:13, the word signifies that the Corinthians will provide overnight accommodations for the delegates as well as necessary food, clothing, and other provisions that might be needed for their journey.

1:17 When I did this, did I do it lightly?

The article accompanying "lightly" (ejlafriva, elaphria ) indicates that Paul echoes back one of the charges for which he stands accused by some of the Corinthians. The word itself, used only here in the NT depicts a person who makes a decision without giving it adequate thought, its adjective form being the opposite of heavy. So, it suggests flippancy but perhaps also vacillation (see NASB and RSV) as when one might make a quick choice between two alternatives without any certainty that he or she is right. However one takes it, Paul seems to consider this charge to be linked to the next one, and thus, "worldly." Also, Paul firmly denies that he operated this way regarding this decision to change travel plans by inserting the word mhvti (mçti) into the question, indicating that the question is to be answered "No!"

Or do I make my plans in a worldly manner

From the specific charge, Paul moves to principle. How does he conduct himself generally or habitually? Paul emphasizes this by referring to his process of planning twice, literally "that which I plan, do I plan according to the flesh?" For Paul to say that he operates his life in the flesh would be to deny that he operates by the Spirit. It would be to say that he has not been converted, that he lives by the dictates of his old life, the one put to death in Christ's death, the one brought to new life by Christ's resurrection, initiated by baptism, growing in the Spirit of Christ (Rom 6-8; Gal 5).

Quite properly, the NIV translates savrx ( sarx ) as "worldly manner" because, as elsewhere, Paul does not mean to imply simply that the mass of our human bodies are pitted against our new spiritual man but more that our lives as influenced by the ungodly principles, motivations, and actions of the decadent, ungodly world in which we live wage war against the attitudes of the new man being created in us by the Spirit.

The matter of making this change of travel plans, as far as Paul is concerned, goes to the heart of who he is: Is he carelessly selfish in his decisions or does he live by the higher standard of selflessness established by Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit?

so that in the same breath I say, "Yes, yes" and "No, no"?

If one thinks about it, taken at face value, this phrase could refer to Paul's worldly selfishness displaying itself in obstinacy, meaning he won't budge on an issue because he refuses to see someone else's point of view. He says either "yes" or "no," and that ends the matter. Thus, to be flexible is to be spiritual. Those who argue this emphasize that "in the same breath" is not in the text (rightly) and that uncertainty would be illustrated by "Yes, no." However, despite the doubling language in 1:17, Paul certainly draws out what he means in terms of "Yes, no" in the verses which follow (1:18-22).

That Paul is denying a charge of self-centered waffling in his decision making in this second question coincides with the charge of careless vacillation denied in the first question. Furthermore, the use of "Yes, yes" and "No, no" language likely mimics Jesus' own words, seen in Matt 5:37 and James 5:12, which are used to encourage believers to avoid all dishonesty. Thus, Paul's use of the phrase here probably intends to suggest that some Corinthians think that he was not just careless in his decision to change plans but that he was purposefully devious with them. Talking out of both sides of his mouth like so many others, was he using them to accomplish his own selfish purposes, even while he spoke of his love for them? Perhaps, even, some of the Corinthians see Paul's change of plans as showing he really loved the Macedonians more than them.

C. CANDOR DEMANDED (1:18-22)

1:18 But as surely as God is faithful,

Paul now calls to the stand as his character witness no less a figure than God himself, who comprises the very definition of integrity in his person. In one sense, this is a simple statement of fact. God's trustworthiness has been proven over the centuries in his dealings with Israel and continues to be demonstrated in relationship to the Corinthians themselves (and for believers today, as well). Paul has emphasized this before to the Corinthians in 1 Cor 1:9 and 10:13 but also in 1 Thess 5:24 and 2 Thess 3:3. However, Paul seems to be making this statement as a kind of oath in order to establish the solemnity of the statement which follows. He will do so more straight-forwardly with regard to the specific charge against him in 1:23. With varying language, he will also make oaths in 2 Cor 2:10; 11:10,11,31, as he does in Gal 1:20, Phil 1:8, and 1 Thess 2:5,10, sometimes citing God, other times citing Christ.

our message to you is not "Yes" and "No."

God not only stands behind the gospel, his very integrity comprises it. When Paul preaches that salvation is in Jesus Christ, this is only true because God has decided that Christ's sacrifice is an adequate compensation for man's sin. The message, or the word (lovgo", logos ), is firm. It does not change. Paul emphasizes that this is the gospel delivered to the Corinthians by him in the phrase "to you," which is literally rendered, "which is for you" (o{ proÉ" uJma'", ho pros hymas ).

In this statement, Paul links his own personal integrity to the integrity of the gospel, a bold challenge to preachers throughout the ages, especially today.

1:19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,

Despite his statement, the more dominant theme of Paul's preaching was "Christ crucified." Appeal to Christ's sonship is rare in Paul, being found only in the confession formulas of Rom 1:4 and Gal 2:20. The theme finds its primary expression elsewhere (John 1:14; Heb 1:3). Christ's intimate connection to God is crucial here in order for Paul to link the credibility of the gospel to the credibility of God. The person of Christ, as both the embodiment of God and the embodiment of the gospel, superimposes them together, forever joining the faithfulness of both God and gospel by remaining faithful to his divine mission.

who was preached among you by me and Silas ^a and Timothy

^a 19 Greek Silvanus , a variant of Silas

Paul identifies the "our" of 1:18 as being he and his two missionary companions. Silas, or Silvanus (the actual name in the text), refer to the same person in the NT. He first appears in the NT as one of the two personal messengers the Apostolic Council commissioned to deliver to Antioch the council's decision to accept uncircumcized Gentiles into the church (Acts 15:22,27,32). He becomes Paul's choice to replace Barnabas as his missionary associate and travels with him on both the second and third missionary journeys (Acts 15-18). He is named as being with Paul when he writes 1 and 2 Thessalonians from Corinth (1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1). He also reappears as Peter's companion and secretary when he writes 1 Peter (5:12).

Timothy (see note on 1:1) and Silas joined Paul in Corinth after he first arrived there with the gospel. The NIV "by me" more precisely is "through me" (di= ejmou', di' emou ), emphasizing Paul and his companions as vehicles for God's expression of the gospel.

was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes."

Continuing to play with the language of yes and no, Paul zeroes in on God's full affirmation of his faithfulness in the person of Jesus Christ. No wavering, no questions, no small margin of error, Christ is all. Employing the present perfect of "has been" (gevgonen, gegonen ), Paul shows Christ's preeminent place in God's plan to save mankind has been in place from the beginning, or "always" as the NIV puts it. It is no afterthought.

1:20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.

The contrast between God's promises and those of others is stark. Whether it be politicians, friends, or even gods, the true God is the moral compass upon which all others are judged. He keeps his word. Paul views all of God's promises, whether to Israel or to mankind in general, to converge in Christ but to extend from Christ, as well. He stands in the center. God's covenants with Adam (Genesis 3), Noah (Genesis 9), Abraham (Genesis 12), Moses at Sinai (Exodus 19), the Levites (Numbers 25), and David (2 Samuel 7) are in view but so are all other messianic promises (Isaiah 11, 59, 63). That Jesus realizes the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 in his death becomes amplified to the church through the Lord's supper (Matt 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25). Hebrews (7:22; 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) emphasizes that Christ's covenant is superior to all the others God has made.

Jesus Christ is the "Yes," it is suggested, because he is the payment which guarantees God's promise of a new covenant relationship with Israel and with mankind.

And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God.

The word "Amen" (ajmhvn, amçn) transliterates the Hebrew word which was pronounced in synagogue worship by the congregation in response to a doxology or benediction. It proclaimed solidarity with what someone else had spoken. Paul's use of it here presumes that such Jewish synagogue practices were taken over into early Christian worship, as evidenced in particular by 1 Corinthians 14:16. With this dynamic in view, Paul pictures Christ ("through him") manifesting praise to God in accomplishing his mission, with missionaries like himself, Silas, and Timothy ("by us") pronouncing the Amen in the form of spreading the gospel message. It confuses Paul's point to think that "us" includes the Corinthians and the church at this point. What Paul wants to accomplish here is to link himself as an apostle to the integrity of God through Christ as evidenced by his proclamation of the gospel. He will not link the Corinthians and all Christians into this chain until the next verse, 1:21, when he pointedly refers to "both us and you."

"Glory" (dovxa, doxa ), used abundantly in the Bible with reference to God, describes the manifestation of God's magnificent presence in such a way that people can do nothing else but acknowledge him in reverence and praise. An "Amen" often follows the mention of God's glory in the NT (Gal 1:5; Phil 4:20; 1 Tim 1:17; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 Pet 4:11; 2 Pet 3:18; Jude 25; Rev 1:6; 7:12), which seems to influence Paul's wording here.

1:21 Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ.

Paul brings his argument for the faithfulness of God through to the Corinthians themselves ("you"). What he says will apply to all Christians, signified by the present tense of the verb "makes stand firm" but particularly to the Corinthians, included in "both us and you." He anchors his remarks to this term "makes stand firm" (bebaiovw, bebaioô) which was used in the marketplace when a merchandiser confirmed the validity of a sale. It amounted to his guarantee that the product now belonged to the buyer. The Corinthians, with their bustling marketplace, will have heard and used the term many times. Paul uses it to impress upon the Corinthians that their very salvation, purchased by the blood of Christ ("in Christ"), has been secured and remains secure because God has accepted payment and stands behind the sale. Their new life in Christ is firm because of the trustworthy character of God. In fact, Paul merely reminds them of what he declared also in 1 Cor 1:6,8. There, as elsewhere in the NT (Heb 3:6,14; 2 Pet 1:10), the term has eschatological implications. Most likely it does here, too.

He has anointed us,

This is the first of three past tense (aorist) participles which Paul uses to demonstrate that, from God's perspective, the salvation of all Christians can be considered "firm" from the moment of their conversion, especially as this is connected with baptism. With this first one, Paul plays on the believer's association with Christ, using "has anointed" (crivw, chriô), which is the verb root of the noun "Christ" (cristov", christos ). Only here in the NT does the verb refer to anyone other than Jesus (Luke 4:18; Acts 4:27; 10:28; Heb 1:9), although a related noun "anointing" (crivsma, chrisma ) is used in 1 John 2:20,27, most likely with reference to the believer's possession of the Holy Spirit. In the OT, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with oil to set them apart for God's service (Exod 28:41; 2 Sam 2:4; 1 Kgs 19:16). Although the occasion of Christian baptism seems to be in view with this participle as with the two which follow, Paul's chief concern here is every believer's reception of the Holy Spirit.

1:22 set his seal of ownership on us

This second participle, from sfragivzw (sphragizô), describes what someone does to signify that something is his possession. Herds, slaves, documents would receive his seal, often using a signet ring. To seal something can also mean to secure it, the word even being used for the fastener of a purse (2 Kgs 22:4). As he does in this passage, Paul uses this same word with "put as a deposit" (ajrrabwvn, arrabôn) in Eph 1:13 regarding the Holy Spirit. By the second century, Christians identified baptism as the seal, and Paul probably views baptism here as closely connected to the reception of the seal, the Holy Spirit. This would certainly be consistent with 1 Cor 12:13, as well as Acts 2:38. However, it goes too far, though, to say that each of the three aorist participles refers to a specific aspect of early Christian baptismal liturgy.

and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

The third participle "put" (douv", dous ) combines with its object, "deposit" (arrabôn) to identify clearly that the Holy Spirit has been in mind all along. It is used only two other times in the NT, both times referring to the Holy Spirit, again in 2 Cor 5:5 and also in Eph 1:14. In the Greek marketplace, a buyer would put down earnest money to satisfy the seller that he would eventually purchase the goods for the entire amount. Sometimes the buyer, rather than giving a first installment, would give the seller one of his own possessions, perhaps a ring (in contemporary Greek culture, an engagement ring being called an arrabôn), until he came back with the money. In either case, if the buyer did not return to pay in full, the seller kept the goods as well as the arrabôn. Such was necessary in a world with no contract law. The NIV has added "guaranteeing what is to come" to relay properly the conclusiveness that this word conveys.

In Jewish thinking, the heart (kardiva, kardia ) is where the essential person presides over his life. It is here that God places the Holy Spirit to guide and to guard the believer. This is as certain as it can get. It is not wishy-washy. The Holy Spirit in the lives of the Corinthians - and all believers - signifies their redeemed relationship with God. He is a deposit on their coming eternity with God.

Will God not claim his own? Is the gospel true? Is Paul's calling sure? Can God be trusted? Then, Paul did not make his travel decisions without carefully considering the spiritual welfare of the Corinthians. Paul's greater to lesser argument which has unfolded in these verses employs a sledgehammer to kill an ant. Yet, to Paul, personal integrity, however small the incident, cannot be separated ultimately from God himself, whom Paul and all Christians serve.

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED (1:23-2:4)

1:23 I call God as my witness

With this solemn oath, Paul retreats from the lofty theological arguments of the previous verses, calling himself back to the stand to speak directly to the question at hand. What were the motivations which led him to change his travel plans yet once more? The language he uses for this oath is very strong, more Greek in character than his normal style. He does invoke God elsewhere, in Rom 1:9; Phil 1:8; 1 Thess 2:5,10, and also in 2 Cor 11:31 and 12:19. The NIV flattens out the distinctive language in this verse by not translating "upon my life" (ejpiÉ thÉn ejmhÉn yuchvn, epi tçn emçn psychçn), which the RSV translates as "against me" and the KJV translates as "upon my soul." Paul's confidence in his honesty on this issue is so certain that he stakes his life on it, Although the word "life" (yuxhv, psychç) can refer to one's soul, mostly in the NT it refers simply to one's person or natural existence, as in Mark 10:45. Paul is not wagering his personal salvation here. Essentially, though, Paul invites the wrath of God upon himself should he not be speaking truthfully.

that it was in order to spare you

Paul testifies that his concern for them was the dominant factor in his decision to devise yet a third travel plan. The word "spare" (feivdomai, pheidomai ), used also by Paul in 1 Cor 7:28; 2 Cor 12:6; and 13:2, suggests Paul's authority to punish the Corinthians for unrepentant behavior. Such discipline normally involves disfellowshiping the person from the church for a time as had already occurred among the Corinthians (1 Cor 5:1-5).

that I did not return to Corinth.

Paul has postponed his second travel plan which called for a double visit to Corinth (1:15-16) until a problem among the Corinthians has been rectified. The situation is so severe that he may never enter Corinth again. It is difficult to judge whether the visit he made here was the first leg of the double visit or an unplanned visit prior to the double visit. In both scenarios Paul responds to a bad report Timothy brought back to him in Ephesus from visiting Corinth. At that point, did he change his first travel plan so he could visit them twice and then begin that journey, break it off when things got rough in Corinth, and return to Ephesus, or did he rush over to Corinth unannounced, run into unexpected trouble, and then cancel the double visit plan? However, if this visit is the first leg of the double visit, why would he have returned to Ephesus and not just have gone on to Macedonia as planned?

1:24 Not that we lord it over your faith,

Other than here, Paul uses the word "lord it over" (kurieuvomen, kyrieuomen ) to describe the authority sin no longer has over a Christian (Rom 6:9,14; 7:1) and Christ's authority over death (Rom 14:9). Having just spoken of disciplining the Corinthians, he considers it necessary to clarify that despite his responsibility as apostle for the Corinthians, they are not dependent upon him for their relationship to God. Their faith is their own. He can't make them repent regarding this situation any more than he could force them to believe in Christ to begin with. Ultimately, each believer comes to God alone, unaccompanied by preachers, parents, or friends.

but we work with you for your joy,

Paul likes to describe his associates for the gospel as "coworkers" (sunergoiv, synergoi ), the word used here, which the NIV has translated verbally. We can see the word used of Timothy (Rom 16:21), Titus (2 Cor 8:23), Priscilla and Aquilla (Rom 16:3), Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25), Urbanus (Rom 16:9), Apollos (1 Cor 3:9), Philemon (Phlm 1), Clement and others (Phil 4:3), and Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke (Phlm 24). Paul does not view the Corinthians, nor any of his converts, as subordinates. They share the load of spreading the gospel, both by laboring in their own communities and by supporting the efforts of others to go to unevangelized communities. With "we" Paul includes here certainly Timothy and Titus who have labored with him in Corinth.

"Joy" (carav, chara ) in the NT does not refer to mere personal happiness, but to the satisfaction and confidence that can only be found in Christ. Such joy is a present by-product of our relationship to Christ, but it is also one of the new components of our Christian life which reaches into eternity. It is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22), maintained in difficulty (2 Cor 6:10; 7:4), and the mark of God's presence in the lives of believers (Rom 14:7; 1 Thess 3:9). Here, Paul uses "joy" to convey his goal of assisting the Corinthian believers to culminate their salvation in the eternal presence of God.

because it is by faith you stand firm.

The image compares to someone having her feet set in concrete. Faith is the bedrock of our secure relationship with God. Everything else extends from it, and nothing happens without it. Unfortunately, the NIV's "by faith" distorts this image, which is retained with the NASB's "in faith." Conceptually, the perfect tense of the verb "stand firm" (ejsthvkate, estçkate) attests to the past, present, and future with regard to a believer's position with God.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Co 1:23

[Having first argued that he could not be guilty of duplicity because of the very nature of his relationships to the true and faithful God, Paul in this section answers the charge more specifically by giving such an explanation of his actions as clearly demonstrated his sincerity in the entire premises.] But I call God for a witness upon my soul, that to spare you I forbare to come unto Corinth .

Lapide: 2Co 1:1-24

SECOND EPISTLE TO THE

CORINTHIANS

CHAPTER 1

CONTENTS

He consoles the Corinthians, whom in the First Epistle he had sharply rebuked, and absolves the excommunicated fornicator, who was now penitent. He then proceeds to treat of true repentence, of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament, of the duty of avoiding the company of unbelievers, of patience, of almsgiving for the poor saints at Jerusalem, of the duty of rejecting the false Apostles who set themselves up as rivals to S. Paul among the Corinthians, and depreciated him, and rendered it necessary for him to sing his own praises in self-defence. Then he threatens some of the Corinthians who still refused to submit to his apostolic authority. The whole Epistle may be said to be a defence and laudation of his apostleship. The Greek MSS., the Syriac, and the Latin Complutensian have a note at the end that it was written at Philippi in Macedonia, and sent by Titus and Luke. Baronius, however, thinks that it was written at Nicopolis, A.D. 58, when the Apostle, after being forced to leave Ephesus, where he wrote his First Epistle, after the uproar raised by Demetrius, left Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus, and came to Troas; then, not finding Titus there, he proceeded into Macedonia, and from thence into Greece; thence he sailed by the Ægean Sea and touched at Crete, where he left Titus. At length he came to Greece again, to Nicopolis, where he had determined to winter (Tit. iii. 12). Cf. Baronius, vol. i. p. 575. It is likely that he wrote this Epistle there in quietness, but the point cannot be decided certainly; for S. Paul, while travelling up and down through Asia, might have gone to and returned from Philippi, and might have stayed there long enough to write it. S. Luke, as is well known, does not record all the stoppages or all the journeyings of the Apostle. Cf. Acts xx.

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. Paul shows, in order that he might console others, from what great tribulations in Asia the Lord had delivered him.

ii. He commends himself to the Corinthians (ver. 12), by a declaration of the sincerity of his heart and of his doctrine.

iii. He clears himself (ver. 17) from the charge of lightness and inconstancy induced by his not coming to them as he had promised, and at the same time affirms the sure and constant truth of his preaching.

Ver. 1. — Timothy our brother. That is our co-Apostle; so the Pope calls Bishops his brethren, a Bishop his canons, an abbot his monks.

Ver. 3. — The Father of mercies. A Hebraism for "most merciful." See note to Rom. xv. 5.

S. Bernard says learnedly and piously ( Serm. 5 de Natali.Dom.): " He is rightly called the Father of mercies, not the Father of judgments or vengeances, not only because it is more the nature of a father to pity than to be angry, even as a father pitieth his children that fear him, but rather because it is from Himself that He draws the cause and origin of His mercy, but from us, that is, from our sins, draws the cause and origin of His judgment and vengeance. But if it is because of this that He is the Father of mercy, why is He called the Father of mercies? The Apostle in one Word, in one Son, brings before us a double mercy in the words ' Father of mercies,' not merely Father of a single mercy, in speaking of the God not of comfort merely, but ' of all comfort,' who comforteth us, not in this or that tribulation, but in all. ' Many are one mercies of the Lord,' say a certain person, meaning that many are the tribulations of the righteous, and the Lord will deliver them out of all. There is one Son of God, one Word; but our manifold misery calls for, not only great pity, but a multitude of mercies. Perhaps, however, because of the double substance which is to be found in our human nature, both of which are miserable, the misery of man may not unsuitably be said to be twofold, although in both it be of manifold forms. Truly the tribulations of our body and soul are increased exceedingly, but He who saves man wholly rescues him from the troubles of both."

Notice that S. Bernard seems to refer the phrase "Father of mercies" to the Son, and rightly enough, but it is not the intention of the Apostle to do so. S. Paul plainly means the same Person by "the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of mercies."

Ver. 5.— For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth in Christ. "The sufferings of Christ" are, (1.) as S. Ambrose takes it, those which we suffer for Christ; (2.) such as Christ suffered; (3.) those which Christ regards as His own, in accordance with S. Mat 25:40 and Act 9:4, as Œcumenius understands the words. Theophylact adds that the word "abound" is used to point to the fact that Christ suffered more in His members than in Himself. This is true by way of extension, but not in the way of intension. In S. Laurence Christ suffered the fire, in S. Stephen the stones, in Ignatius the wild beasts; but His suffering and sorrow in Himself were greater and more intense than what all these suffered. The meaning, therefore, is this, according to Theophylact: Do not be downcast whoever of you suffers from afflictions and various ills, because, however great your sufferings may be, so great is your consolation.

But here observe, (1.) as Theophylact does, that S. Paul does not merely say that the comfort equals the sufferings, but that it abounds and is greater than they are; and, therefore, whoever is afflicted may bear his troubles patiently, nay joyfully and gladly, and so may gain the victory over them. (2.) The sufferings of Christ have this characteristic, that Christ gives consolation in proportion to them, and the greater the suffering the greater the comfort. On the other hand the sufferings of the world are vinegar without honey, and as they increase, so do desolation and mourning and woe. (3.) It follows from this that the suffering of the Cross is not to be fled from but embraced, as the mother of so much Divine comfort and joy. So S. Andrew, Ignatius, Xavier embraced it, and prayed daily for the Cross, and would not be set free from it unless God would give them a heavier one.

Ver. 6— And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation. We suffer tribulations that we may consol and save you, and may animate you, by our patience and hope in God and His comfort, to bravely bear, as we do, afflictions on behalf of the faith. So Ambrose. Cf. Chrysostom ( Hom. 1 de Spe et Fort. in Tentat. Serv.).

Which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings. This salvation, as the wished for end, produces patience. Others, as Theophylact, take it, "Salvation is wrought in patience." Ambrose takes it to mean that patience is the meritorious cause of salvation, and that salvation, therefore, produces patience as its final cause, for the efficient and final causes have a mutual relation. Salvation, as the final cause, orders and works patience, and in turn patience, as the efficient cause, works out salvation. The meaning, then, is that your consolation and salvation alike effectually produce patience, our exhortation animates you to hope for salvation, and to bear bravely on its behalf whatever sufferings arise from obedience to the faith. My exhortation or consolation, therefore, works effectually endurance by stirring, you up to it; the salvation thence hoped for works endurance objectively. Just so the resolution to attain some end makes us lay hold of and employ means.

Ver. 8. — Which came to us in Asia. From the tumult raised by Demetrius, recorded in Act 19:29. So S. Thomas understands this passage, as do all other interpreters except Cajetan, who thinks that there is a reference here to some persecution not mentioned in Scripture.

We were pressed out of measure, above strength. Above the strength of nature, not of grace—more than the body could bear, not the mind; for by the help of grace Paul bore this tribulation undauntedly and overcame it. "God is faithful," he says, in 1Co 10:13, "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able" to bear by the help of grace. Moreover, he does not say that he was tempted, but pressed or afflicted above his strength, inasmuch as the body is a heavy burden, though the soul preserve her fortitude, and fortitude overcome temptation.

Insomuch that we despaired even of life. Nature would have preferred death to suffering such afflictions. But there was no despair when the charity and grace of God were considered, by which Paul was enabled to bear any afflictions whatever in God's service. This despair or weariness was felt by many saints. Cf. Job 10:1 and 1Ki 19:4. The Greek word denotes also anxiety and perplexity. Hence Chrysostom renders it, "We were in doubt," and Vatablus as in the text. Hence follows (ver. 9), "But we had the answer of death in ourselves." The Latin version gives tædium, or weariness.

Ver. 9.— But we had the sentence of death in ourselves. "But," here, has the meaning of "moreover." Nature and inclination presaged and expected nothing but death; and when I thought of the state of my life, my mind answered that I must die if God did not lend miraculous aid. So Ambrose and Theophylact.

The Greek word here rendered "sentence" means, (1.) answer. (2.) According to Photius, it denotes the crisis of an illness. The meaning, then, would be: We were so afflicted that our life was despaired of by nature and by experienced men, who, looking at our case as doctors might, judged it beyond recovery. (3.) It denotes sentence, as in the text. We seemed to have received our sentence, and to be destined accordingly to inevitable death.

Ver. 10.— Who delivered us from so great a death. "From so great dangers," according to the Latin. The meaning is the same. Ambrose reads "from so great deaths." The Hebrews are wont to apply the name of death to great dangers, violent persecutions, grief, and agony that are akin to death, and that seem to threaten a speedy death. So Chrysostom. Cf. Psa 18:5, and 2Co 11:23.

Ver. 11.— That by the means of many persons. Primasius reads this, "By a company of many persons," that is, children, youths, and old men.  S. Paul's meaning is, that through many people in a great concourse of men, thanks may be publicly given to God for S. Paul's deliverance and safe return, as the common father and Apostle of all.

For the gift bestowed upon us. That thanks may be given, says Vatablus, by many, on our behalf, for the gift of grace that was given to us. As gratitude demands that thanks be given, in proportion to the benefit bestowed, to the great Giver for our creation, redemption, justification, education, and growth, so also should thanks be given for the gift of deliverance.

Ver. 12 . — For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience. "For" introduces the reason why the Corinthians should give thanks and pray for Paul. It is because he was their Apostle, who, with great grace and efficacy, preached to them the Gospel and converted them; and in proof of this he calls upon his own conscience and theirs.

Observe here the force and quiet that come from a good conscience. "No theatre," says Cicero, "for virtue is so great as that of conscience." Juvenal, too ( Sat. xiii.), says. "The summit of happiness is to have a mind conscious of its own integrity." S. Augustine again ( contra Secund. Manich. c. i.) says: "Think of Augustine what you like, my conscience shall not be my accuser in the presence of God." See notes to 1Ti 1:5.

Not with fleshly wisdom. I have not preached with human philosophy or eloquence, but with grace, zeal, efficacy, and the Holy Spirit.

Ver. 14.— We are your rejoicing, even as ye also are ours. We are the object of your rejoicing as your teachers; ye, as good disciples, are the object of our rejoicing; and this rejoicing will chiefly be seen in the day when the Lord will come to judge all men.

Ver. 15 . — I was minded to come unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit. The first benefit was that of his First Epistle; his second would have been his visit to them in person. So Theophylact. Or else the first benefit was his first visit, when he converted them; his second would be his second visit, to confirm them in the faith.

Ver. 16 . — And to pass by you into Macedonia. To pay them a flying visit, and then return from Macedonia to them again, so as to stay longer with them. This is what he means in 1Co 16:5, where he says that he would come to them after he had passed through Macedonia. Here he adds further to this that he also wished to see them on his way to Macedonia. So the Greek Fathers harmonise the passages; but Lyranus and S. Thomas reconcile them differently, but not so probably.

Ver. 17.— When I therefore was thus minded, did I use lightness? That is, when I proposed to come to you and did not. The Greek word for lightness is derived from the word for a stag. In a like way we speak of the wisdom of the serpent, the innocence of the dove, the stubbornness of the ass, the headiness of the elephant.

Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh? S. Paul did not form his determinations relying on human prudence and lightness, which readily change men's designs, through worldly advantage or convenience, or the influence of superiors, nay, through the mere fickleness and changeability of natural inclination. So Ambrose.

That with me there should be yea yea, and nay nay. I was not so unstable and purposeless as at one time to promise to come and at another to refuse, as boys often do. So Anselm.

Ver. 18.— But as God is true, our word toward you was not yea and nay. I call the true God to witness, who is a faithful and true witness, that in teaching you I did not deceive you, and, therefore, that it was not my intention to fail you when I promised to come to you.

This teaches the preacher to beware of lightness and fickleness of life, lest the people infer from it that the truth which he preaches is equally unfixed and uncertain.

Ver. 19 . — For the Son of God . . . was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. My preaching and teaching about Christ was not variable, inconstant, and contradictory, but was a constant, uniform statement, for I always said and taught the same of Christ.

Ver. 20 . — For all the promises of God in Him are yea. All the promises of God in the Old Testament relating to the Messiah were constant and true, and have been fulfilled in Him.

1 The yea yea here, and in S. Mat 5:47, have a threefold signification: (1.) constant asseveration, as opposed to inconstancy and deceit; (2.) truth or reality, as opposed to falsity or unreality; (3.) simple affirmation, as opposed to an oath. Cf. S. Jam 5:12.

And in Him Amen. "And therefore we say, Amen" is the Latin rendering; that is, we affirm that those promises were true. So Chrysostom and Ambrose. For further notes on "Amen," see 1 Cor. xiv. 16.

Add to this that Amen is usually an adverb denoting truly, firmly, faithfully, and thence came to be the name of the abstract qualities of truth, firmness, and faithfulness. Cf. Isa 65:16; Jer 11:5; Isa 25:1; Rev 3:14, Rev 7:12. The meaning, therefore, here is: Through Him, Christ, the Amen, i.e., truth, faithfulness, and constancy, we give glory to God, saying: All that God promised concerning Christ is Amen, i.e., most true, and has been most truly fulfilled by God.

Ver. 21 . — Now He which stablished us. Some think that this is an ellipse, and we must understand the meaning to be, He which stablisheth us prevented, the execution of my purpose. But it is far better to refer these words, as others do, to what immediately precedes them. The promises of God have been fulfilled in Christ; but He who by His power and authority fulfils them is God Himself: as He promised, so in fact does He stablish us, anoint us, and seal us in Christ. In the third place, it would not be amiss to refer these words to what was said in ver. 18, "Our word toward you was not yea and nay." In other words—I am not fickle and inconstant in my speech, my preaching, and promises. It is God who gives me this constancy, and therefore let no one think that I am arrogant enough to ascribe it to my own strength and fortitude, since I profess that I have it, not from myself but from God. As God in Himself and in His promises is yea, that is, is ever constant, firm, and unchangeable, so does He strengthen us, and make us firm and constant in the faith and in what we promise.

And hath anointed us in God, who also hath sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. This seal, says Calvin, is that special Divine faith by which each has a certain knowledge that he is predestinated. But this seal is uncertain and unreliable, and this faith is false and foolish presumption. For the Apostle, who had as great faith as possible, fears reprobation in 1Co 4:27. His Divine faith, therefore, did not give him certain assurance of his predestination. Moreover, he frequently impresses on all the faithful that they carefully work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, and by so doing he takes from them all ground for assurance of their salvation. Add to this that no one is certain that he has this Divine faith, or that he will always have it; nay, many have fallen away from this faith of Calvin's who before believed with him that they were of the number of the predestinate.

I say, then, 1. that God hath sealed means, He has confirmed His promises as though He had stamped them with His seal, by giving, according to them, as a pledge of our future inheritance, His grace, by which He has sealed and anointed us to be the sons of God, separated from the sons of the devil. So Chrysostom, Theodoret, Œcumenius. This seal is altogether certainly known to God, but to us is only a matter of probability. This establishing, anointing and sealing take place through one and the self-same grace. Similarly, in Eph 1:13 he says that we have been sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

2. This passage may be referred to baptism; for ( a ) in baptism God anointed us with the oil of His grace; ( b ) He gave the earnest of the Spirit in the testimony of a good conscience; ( c ) He sealed us with the 'character' of baptism. Cf. Bellarmine ( de Effectu. Sacr. lib. ii. c. 20). The exposition of Theophylact and Chrysostom is to be referred to this. They say: " He hath anointed us and sealed us to be prophets, priests, and kings." Cf. Chrysostom ( Hom. 3) on these words, who points out how Christians who govern their passions are kings anointed by God.

3. It is the best explanation which refers these words to the sacrament of Confirmation, which, in olden times, was received by all the faithful to strengthen them against persecution. S. Paul has expressly distinguished, "He hath established us," "He hath given the earnest of the Spirit,". "hath anointed us," "hath sealed us." But these four things cannot be distinguished anywhere save in the sacrament of Confirmation.

These words point to four effects of the sacrament of Confirmation: (1.) The gift of faith, by which we are strengthened in Christ. Hence, as was said in ver. 18, S. Paul's faithful preaching of Christ was firm and constant, because God had strengthened him for it in Christ by means of the sacrament of Confirmation, i.e., through Christ and His merits. (2.) The second effect is the grace of charity, with which we are abundantly anointed, as with a spiritual chrism. The Greek, indeed, for anointed is the very word whence come "Christ" and "Christians," so that "Christians" are "the anointed ones." Hence S. Augustine ( Serm. 342) says: "The word 'Christ' is from chrism, i.e., anointing. Every Christian, therefore, is sanctified, in order that he may understand that he not only is made a partaker of the priestly and royal dignity, but also an adversary of the devil." (3.) The third fruit is the earnest of the Spirit, which is the testimony of a good conscience given by the Holy Spirit, and which is as the earnest of the future glory promised, and to be given by the Holy Spirit. For the sense in which the Holy Spirit is the pledge or earnest, see notes to Eph 1:14. (4.) The fourth fruit is the seal and sign of the Cross on the forehead, signifying the "character" imprinted on the soul, by which we are sealed as His servants, or rather His soldiers and leaders. Cf. Ambrose ( de his qui Mysteriis Initiantur, c. vii.), Suarez (pt. iii. qu. 63, art. 1 and 4).

Ver. 23.— Moreover, I call God for a record upon my soul. From this it is lawful for a Christian to take an oath, says S. Augustine (qu. 5, inter. 83); for the Apostle here takes an oath, and that one of execration. If I lie, he says, may God be my judge and condemn my soul.

That to spare you I came not as yet unto Corinth. Lest I should be forced to exert my apostolic authority against the vices of the offenders among you: it was to spare you from being grieved by my coming to correct you. So Anselm. Cf. also chap. ii. 1. S. Paul here gives the real reason why he had not kept his promise, or his purpose of visiting Corinth, which was that the Corinthians had not yet given up the vices of which he had admonished them in his First Epistle, and deserved therefore to be rebuked still more sharply and punished. But he deals gently with them, and by his absence he wished tacitly, and by his Epistle openly to remind them once more of their duty, and so correct them with gentleness.

Let prelates learn from this not to be ever chiding and rebuking those under them for their faults, lest they make them hard and callous. And more than this, the faults of some people, especially those that are more high-minded and sensitive, are more effectually corrected if they are pointed out patiently and indirectly than if they are rebuked openly, or actually visited with punishment. Cf. S. Gregory ( Pastor. pt, iii. c. 8 and 9).

As yet. That is, after his first visit, or after the First Epistle.

Ver. 24 . — Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy. This is a well-known rhetorical figure of speech, by which he tones down what had been said before of his power. He means: I said that 1 was unwilling to punish, and wished you of your own accord to correct yourselves; but I said this not from love of power, or as though I wished to act arbitrarily, but to improve you, that when you were so corrected you might rejoice both on earth and in heaven. This rebuke of mine, therefore, is not so much a rebuke as a support and help to your joy. So Anselm.

For by faith ye stand. "Which," says S. Anselm, "works by love and is not forced by dominion." In your faith I have nothing to correct, but only in your actions; and, since you are of the faithful, I will not imperiously scold you, but gently admonish you by this letter, that so you may all rejoice with me. Since you are of the faith, I have little doubt but that you will at once listen to my admonitions.

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Second Corinthians

From Macedonia a.d. 54 Or 55

By Way of Introduction

The Pauline authorship is admitted by all real scholars, though there is doubt by some as to the unity of the Epistle. J.H. Kennedy ( The Second and Third Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians , 1900) has presented the arguments in a plausible, but not wholly convincing, manner for the plea that chapters 2 Corinthians 10-13 really represent a separate and earlier letter, the one referred to in 2Co_2:3, which was later tacked on to chapters 1-9 as part of the same Epistle. This theory does explain the difference in tone between chapters 1 to 7 and 10 to 13, but that fact is sufficiently clear from the stubborn minority against Paul in Corinth reported by Titus after the majority had been won to Paul by First Corinthians and by Titus (2Co_2:1-11). There are in fact three obvious divisions in the Epistle. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the report of Titus about the victory in Corinth and Paul’s wonderful digression on the glory of the ministry in 2 Corinthians 2:12-6:10; chapters 8 and 2Co_9:1-15 discuss the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem already mentioned in 1Co_16:1. and which Titus is to press to completion on his return to Corinth; chapters 10 to 13 deal sharply with the Judaizing minority who still oppose Paul’s leadership. These three subjects are in no sense inconsistent with each other. The letter is a unity. Nowhere do we gain so clear an insight into Paul’s own struggles and hopes as a preacher. It is a handbook for the modern minister of inestimable value. One can hear Paul’s heart throb through these chapters. The syntax is often broken by anacolutha. The sentences are sometimes disconnected. Grammatical agreements are overlooked. But there is power here, the grip of a great soul holding on to the highest ideals in the midst of manifold opposition and discouragements. Christ is Master of Paul at every turn.

The date of the Epistle is clearly after I Corinthians, for Paul has left Ephesus and is now in Macedonia (2Co_2:13), probably at Philippi, where he met Titus, though he had hoped to meet him at Troas on his return from Corinth. At a guess one may say that Paul wrote in the autumn of a.d. 54 or 55 of the same year in the spring of which he had written I Corinthians, and before he went on to Corinth himself where he wrote Romans (Act_20:1-3; Rom_16:1).

The occasion for writing is the return of Titus from Corinth with mixed news of the Pauline majority and the minority in opposition. So Titus is sent back with this Epistle to finish the task while Paul waits awhile for matters to clear up (2Co_13:1-10).

It is not certain whether the letter mentioned in 2Co_2:3 is our I Corinthians or a lost letter like the one alluded to in 1Co_5:9. If it is a lost one, we know of four Corinthian Epistles (the one in 1Co_5:9, our I Corinthians, the one in 2Co_2:3, our II Corinthians), assuming the unity of II Corinthians. Few things in Paul’s ministry gave him more concern than the troubles in Corinth. The modern city pastor finds little in his work that Paul has not faced and mastered. There is consolation and courage for the preacher in the conduct and counsels of this greatest of all preachers.

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE following reasons seem to have induced Paul to write this Second Epistle to the Corinthians: (1) That he might explain the reasons for his having deferred to pay them his promised visit, by taking Corinth as his way to Macedonia (1Co 4:19; 2Co 1:15-16; compare 1Co 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (2Co 1:12, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 6:3-13; 2Co 7:2). (2) That he might commend their obedience in reference to the directions in his First Epistle, and at the same time direct them now to forgive the offender, as having been punished sufficiently (2Co 2:1-11; 2Co 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (2Co 8:1-9, 2Co 8:15). (4) That he might maintain his apostolic authority and reprove gainsayers.

The external testimonies for its genuineness are IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,1]; ATHENAGORAS [Of the Resurrection of the Dead]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 3, p. 94; 4, p. 101]; TERTULLIAN [On Modesty, 13].

The TIME OF WRITING was after Pentecost, A.D. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2Co 2:12), he went on to Macedonia, being eager to meet Titus there, having been disappointed in his not coming to Troas, as had been agreed on between them. Having heard from him the tidings he so much desired of the good effect produced on the Corinthians by his First Epistle, and after having tested the liberality of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1), he wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months; and then, after travelling by land, reached Philippi on his return at Passover or Easter, A.D. 58 (Act 20:1-6). So that this Epistle must have been written about autumn, A.D. 57.

Macedonia was THE PLACE from which it was written (2Co 9:2, where the present tense, "I boast," or "am boasting," implies his presence then in Macedonia). In Asia (Lydian Asia) he had undergone some great peril of his life (2Co 1:8-9), whether the reference be [PALEY] to the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), or, as ALFORD thinks, to a dangerous illness in which he despaired of life. Thence he passed by Troas to Philippi, the first city which would meet him in entering Macedonia. The importance of the Philippian Church would induce him to stay there some time; as also his desire to collect contributions from the Macedonian churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem. His anxiety of mind is recorded (2Co 7:5) as occurring when he came into Macedonia, and therefore must have been at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia in coming from Troas; and here, too, from 2Co 7:6, compared with 2Co 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in 2Co 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (2Co 7:5). ALFORD argues from 2Co 8:1, where he speaks of the "grace bestowed on the churches (plural) of Macedonia," that Paul must have visited other churches in Macedonia, besides Philippi, when he wrote, for example, Thessalonica, Berea, &c., and that Philippi, the first on his route, is less likely to have been the scene of his writing than the last on his route, whichever it was, perhaps Thessalonica. But Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this Epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co 8:6).

The STYLE is most varied, and passes rapidly from one phase of feeling to another; now joyous and consolatory, again severe and full of reproof; at one time gentle and affectionate, at another, sternly rebuking opponents and upholding his dignity as an apostle. This variety of style accords with the warm and earnest character of the apostle, which nowhere is manifested more beautifully than in this Epistle. His bodily frailty, and the chronic malady under which he suffered, and which is often alluded to (2Co 4:7; 2Co 5:1-4; 2Co 12:7-9; compare Note, see on 2Co 1:8), must have been especially trying to one of his ardent temperament. But besides this, was the more pressing anxiety of the "care of all the churches." At Corinth, as elsewhere, Judaizing emissaries wished to bind legal fetters of letter and form (compare 2Co. 3:3-18) on the freedom and catholicity of the Church. On the other hand, there were free thinkers who defended their immorality of practice by infidel theories (1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (2Co 7:5-6) which agitated the apostle's mind until Titus brought him comforting tidings from Corinth. Even then, while the majority at Corinth had testified their repentance, and, as Paul had desired, excommunicated the incestuous person, and contributed for the poor Christians of Judea, there was still a minority who, more contemptuously than ever, resisted the apostle. These accused him of crafty and mercenary motives, as if he had personal gain in view in the collection being made; and this, notwithstanding his scrupulous care to be above the possibility of reasonable suspicion, by having others besides himself to take charge of the money. This insinuation was palpably inconsistent with their other charge, that he could be no true apostle, as he did not claim maintenance from the churches which he founded. Another accusation they brought of cowardly weakness; that he was always threatening severe measures without daring to execute them (2Co 10:8-16; 2Co 13:2); and that he was vacillating in his teaching and practice, circumcising Timothy, and yet withholding circumcision from Titus; a Jew among the Jews, and a Greek among the Greeks. That most of these opponents were of the Judaizing party in the Church, appears from 2Co 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," 2Co 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (2Co 3:1) from members of the Church at Jerusalem, and who boasted of his purity of Hebrew descent, and his close connection with Christ Himself (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (1Co 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (2Co 11:6; 2Co 10:10, 2Co 10:13). It was this state of things at Corinth, reported by Titus, that caused Paul to send him back forthwith thither with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co 1:1), which had in some degree been affected by the same causes as affected the Corinthian Church. The widely different tone in different parts of the Epistle is due to the diversity which existed at Corinth between the penitent majority and the refractory minority. The former he addresses with the warmest affection; the latter with menace and warning. Two deputies, chosen by the churches to take charge of the contribution to be collected at Corinth, accompanied Titus (2Co 8:18-19, 2Co 8:22).

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

• THE HEADING; PAUL'S CONSOLATIONS IN RECENT TRIALS IN ASIA; HIS SINCERITY TOWARDS THE CORINTHIANS; EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT HAVING VISITED THEM AS HE HAD PURPOSED. (2Co. 1:1-24)
• REASON WHY HE HAD NOT VISITED THEM ON HIS WAY TO MACEDONIA; THE INCESTUOUS PERSON OUGHT NOW TO BE FORGIVEN; HIS ANXIETY TO HEAR TIDINGS OF THEIR STATE FROM TITUS, AND HIS JOY WHEN AT LAST THE GOOD NEWS REACHES HIM. (2Co. 2:1-17)
• THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION. (2Co. 3:1-18) Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
• HIS PREACHING IS OPEN AND SINCERE, THOUGH TO MANY THE GOSPEL IS HIDDEN. (2Co. 4:1-18)
• THE HOPE (2Co 4:17-18) OF ETERNAL GLORY IN THE RESURRECTION BODY. (2Co. 5:1-21)
• HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18)
• SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16)
• THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS; THE READINESS OF THE MACEDONIANS A PATTERN TO THE CORINTHIANS; CHRIST THE HIGHEST PATTERN; EACH IS TO GIVE WILLINGLY AFTER HIS ABILITY; TITUS AND TWO OTHERS ARE THE AGENTS ACCREDITED TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION. (2Co. 8:1-24)
• REASONS FOR HIS SENDING TITUS. THE GREATER THEIR BOUNTIFULNESS, THE MORE SHALL BE THE RETURN OF BLESSING TO THEM, AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. (2Co 9:1-15)
• HE VINDICATES HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AGAINST THOSE WHO DEPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HE WILL MAKE HIS POWER FELT WHEN HE COMES. HE BOASTS NOT, AS THEY, BEYOND HIS MEASURE. (2Co. 10:1-18)
• THROUGH JEALOUSY OVER THE CORINTHIANS, WHO MADE MORE ACCOUNT OF THE FALSE APOSTLES THAN OF HIM, HE IS OBLIGED TO COMMEND HIMSELF AS IN MANY RESPECTS SUPERIOR. (2Co. 11:1-33)
• REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (2Co 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (2Co 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare 1Sa 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration.
• HE THREATENS A SEVERE PROOF OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, BUT PREFERS THEY WOULD SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY FOR IT. (2Co 13:1-14)

TSK: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The most remarkable circumstance in this Epistle, observes Mr. Scott, is the confidence of the Apostle in the goodness of his cause, and in the power of God to bear him out in it. Opposed as he then was by a powerful and sagacious party, whose authority, reputation, and interest were deeply concerned, and who were ready to seize on every thing that could discredit him, it is wonderful to hear him so firmly insist upon his apostolical authority, and so unreservedly appeal to the miraculous power which he has exercised and conferred at Corinth. So far from shrinking from the contest, as afraid of some discovery being made, unfavourable to him and the common cause, he, with great modesty and meekness indeed, but with equal boldness and decision, expressly declares that his opposers and despisers were the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with miraculous judgments, when as many of their deluded hearers had been brought to repentance and re-established in the faith, as proper means could in a reasonable time effect. It is inconceivable that a stronger internal testimony, not only of integrity, but of divine inspiration, can exist. Had there been anything of imposture among the Christians, it was next to impossible but such a conduct must have occasioned a disclosure of it. Of the effects produced by this latter epistle we have no circumstantial account; for the journey which St. Paul took to Corinth, after he had written it, is mentioned by St. Luke only in a few words (Act 20:2, Act 20:3). We know, however, that St. Paul was there after he had written this Epistle; that the contributions for the poor brethren at Jerusalem were brought to him from different parts to that city (Rom 15:26); and that, after remaining there several months, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of that church, by whom he must have been greatly respected, to the church of Rome (Rom 16:22, Rom 16:23). From this time we hear no more of the false teacher and his party; and when Clement of Rome wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul was considered by them as a divine apostle, to whose authority he might appeal without fear of contradiction. The false teacher, therefore, must either have been silenced by St. Paul, by virtue of his apostolical powers, and by an act of severity which he had threatened (2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3); or this adversary of the apostle had, at that time, voluntarily quitted the place. Whichever was the cause, the effect produced must operate as a confirmation of our faith, and as a proof of St. Paul’s divine mission.

TSK: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Co 1:1, Paul salutes the Corinthians; 2Co 1:3, he encourages them against troubles, by the comforts and deliverances which God had given him, as in all his afflictions, 2Co 1:8, so particularly in his late danger in Asia; 2Co 1:12, And calling both his own conscience and theirs to witness of his sincere manner of preaching the immutable truth of the gospel, 2Co 1:15. he excuses his not coming to them, as proceeding not of lightness, but of his lenity towards them.

Poole: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

ARGUMENT

Concerning the sacred penman as well of this as the former Epistle, and the church to whom this as well as that Epistle was sent, enough hath been said before. It is plain, that the apostle, when he wrote it, was in Macedonia; probably at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia, Act 16:12 , whither Paul went after the uproar that Demetrius had made at Ephesus, of which we read, Act 20:1 . The occasion of his writing this Second Epistle seemeth to be, partly the false teachers’ aspersing him:

1. As an inconstant man, because he had promised to come in person to Corinth, and was not yet come; the reason of which he showeth, 2Co 1:1-24 , was not levity, but the troubles he met with in Asia, and his desire to hear they had first reformed the abuses he had taxed them for.

2. As an imperious man, because of the incestuous person against whom he had wrote; which charge he avoids, by showing the necessity of his writing in that manner, and giving new orders for the restoring him, upon the repentance he had showed.

3. As a proud and vain glorious man.

4. As a contemptible person; base in his person, as he expresseth it.

The further occasions of his writing were: To commend them for their kind reception of and compliance with the precepts and admonitions of his former Epistle, and their kind reception of Titus: as also to exhort them to a liberal contribution to the necessities of the saints in Judea, to which they had showed their forwardness a year before: and his hearing that there was yet a party amongst them bad enough, that went on in vilifying him and his authority, as well as in other sinful courses; against whom he vindicateth himself, magnifying his office, assuring them he was about to come to Corinth; when they should find him present such as, being absent, he had by his letters declared himself, if they were not reformed. The substance therefore of this Epistle is partly apologetical, or excusatory, where he excuseth himself for his not coming to Corinth so soon as he thought, and for his so severe writing as to the incestuous person: partly hortatory, where he persuadeth them, more generally, to walk worthy of the gospel; more specially, 2Co 8:1-24 and 2Co 9:1-15 , to a liberal contribution to the saints: partly minatory, or threatening, where he threateneth severity against those whom, when he came amongst them, he should find contumacious and impenitent offenders. He concludes the Epistle (as usually) with a salutation of them, pious exhortations to them, and a prayer for them.

2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 1

2Co 1:1,2 Paul saluteth the Corinthians,

2Co 1:3-7 and blesseth God for the comforts and deliverances

given him, not solely for his own sake, but for the

comfort and encouragement of others also.

2Co 1:8-11 He telleth them of a deliverance he had lately had

from a great danger in Asia, and expresseth his trust

in God’ s protection for the future through their prayers.

2Co 1:12-14 He calleth both his own conscience and theirs to

witness his sincerity in preaching the gospel,

2Co 1:15-22 and excuseth his not coming to them, as not

proceeding from lightness,

2Co 1:23,24 but from lenity towards them.

The will of God here doth not signify the bare permission, but the calling and precept of God; he was called to be an apostle Rom 1:1 1Co 1:1 , making him a minister and a witness, Act 26:16 . His joining of Timothy with him, showeth both the great humility of the apostle, and his desire to give him a reputation in the churches, though he was a very young man. The Epistle is not directed only to the church of God which was at Corinth, (the metropolis of Peloponnesus), but also to all those Christians which lived in Achaia: by which name probably he doth not understand all Greece, (though that anciently had that name, from one Achaeus, that was king there, from whom the Grecians had the name of Achivi,) but that region of Peloponnesus which lay in a neck of land between the Aegean and Ionian Seas; which obtained that name in a more special and restrained sense.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Corinthians probably was written about a year after the first. Its contents are closely connected with those of the former epistle. The manner in which the letter St. Paul formerly wrote had been received, is particularly noticed; this was such as to fill his heart with gratitude to God, who enabled him fully to discharge his duty towards them. Many had shown marks of repentance, and amended their conduct, but others still followed their false teachers; and as the apostle delayed his visit, from his unwillingness to treat them with severity, they charged him with levity and change of conduct. Also, with pride, vain-glory, and severity, and they spake of him with contempt. In this epistle we find the same ardent affection towards the disciples at Corinth, as in the former, the same zeal for the honour of the gospel, and the same boldness in giving Christian reproof. The first six chapters are chiefly practical: the rest have more reference to the state of the Corinthian church, but they contain many rules of general application.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Co 1:1-11) The apostle blesses God for comfort in, and deliverance out of troubles.

(2Co 1:12-14) He professes his own and his fellow-labourers' integrity.

(2Co 1:15-24) Gives reasons for his not coming to them.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

In his former epistle the apostle had signified his intentions of coming to Corinth, as he passed through Macedonia (1Co 16:5), but, being providentially hindered for some time, he writes this second epistle to them about a year after the former; and there seem to be these two urgent occasions: - 1. The case of the incestuous person, who lay under censure, required that with all speed he should be restored and received again into communion. This therefore he gives directions about (ch. 2), and afterwards (ch. 7) he declares the satisfaction he had upon the intelligence he received of their good behaviour in that affair. 2. There was a contribution now making for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in which he exhorts the Corinthians to join (ch. 8, 2Co 9:1-15).

There are divers other things very observable in this epistle; for example, I. The account the apostle gives of his labours and success in preaching the gospel in several places, ch. 2. II. The comparison he makes between the Old and New Testament dispensation, ch. 3. III. The manifold sufferings that he and his fellow-labourers met with, and the motives and encouragements for their diligence and patience, ch. 4, 5. IV. The caution he gives the Corinthians against mingling with unbelievers, ch. 6. V. The way and manner in which he justifies himself and his apostleship from the opprobrious insinuations and accusations of false teachers, who endeavoured to ruin his reputation at Corinth, ch. 10-12, and throughout the whole epistle.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

After the introduction (2Co 1:1, 2Co 1:2) the apostle begins with the narrative of his troubles and God's goodness, which he had met with in Asia, by way of thanksgiving to God (2Co 1:3-6), and for the edification of the Corinthians (2Co 1:7-11). Then he attests his and his fellow-labourers' integrity (2Co 1:12-14), and afterwards vindicates himself from the imputation of levity and inconstancy (2Co 1:15-24).

Barclay: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS

The Greatness Of Corinth

A glance at the map will show that Corinth was made for greatness. The southern part of Greece is very nearly an island. On the west the Corinthian Gulf deeply indents the land and on the east the Saronic Gulf. All that is left to join the two parts of Greece together is a little isthmus only four miles across. On that narrow neck of land Corinth stands. Such a position made it inevitable that it should be one of the greatest trading and commercial centres of the ancient world. All traffic from Athens and the north of Greece to Sparta and the Peloponnese had to be routed through Corinth, because it stood on the little neck of land that connected the two.

Not only did the north to south traffic of Greece pass through Corinth of necessity, by far the greater part of the east to west traffic of the Mediterranean passed through her from choice. The extreme southern tip of Greece was known as Cape Malea (now called Cape Matapan). It was dangerous, and to round Cape Malea had much the same sound as to round Cape Horn had in later times. The Greeks had two sayings which showed what they thought of it--"Let him who sails round Malea forget his home," and, "Let him who sails round Malea first make his will."

The consequence was that mariners followed one of two courses. They sailed up the Saronic Gulf, and, if their ships were small enough, dragged them out of the water, set them on rollers, hauled them across the isthmus, and re-launched them on the other side. The isthmus was actually called the Diolkos, the place of dragging across. The idea is the same as that which is contained in the Scottish place name Tarbert, which means a place where the land is so narrow that a boat can be dragged from loch to loch. If that course was not possible because the ship was too large, the cargo was disembarked, carried by porters across the isthmus, and re-embarked on another ship at the other side. This four mile journey across the isthmus, where the Corinth Canal now runs, saved a journey of two hundred and two miles round Cape Malea, the most dangerous cape in the Mediterranean.

It is easy to see how great a commercial city Corinth must have been. The north to south traffic of Greece had no alternative but to pass through her; by far the greater part of the east to west trade of the Mediterranean world chose to pass through her. Round Corinth there clustered three other towns, Lechaeum at the west end of the isthmus, Cenchrea at the east end and Schoenus just a short distance away. Farrar writes, "Objects of luxury soon found their way to the markets which were visited by every nation in the civilized world--Arabian balsam, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goatsair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves."

Corinth, as Farrar calls her, was the Vanity Fair of the ancient world. Men called her The Bridge of Greece; one called her The Lounge of Greece. It has been said that if a man stands long enough in Piccadilly Circus he will in the end meet everyone in the country. Corinth was the Piccadilly Circus of the Mediterranean. To add to the concourse which came to it, Corinth was the place where the Isthmian Games were held, which were second only to the Olympics. Corinth was a rich and populous city with one of the greatest commercial trades in the ancient world.

The Wickedness Of Corinth

There was another side to Corinth. She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery. The word actually penetrated to the English language, and, in Regency times, a Corinthian was one of the wealthy young bucks who lived in reckless and riotous living. Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, "It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth." In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and the sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.

The History Of Corinth

The history of Corinth falls into two parts. She was a very ancient city. Thucydides, the Greek historian, claims that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it was in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which Jason sailed the seas, searching for the golden fleece. But in 146 B.C. disaster befell her. The Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece, Corinth was the leader of the opposition. But the Greeks could not stand against the disciplined Romans, and in 146 B.C. Lucius Mummius, the Roman general, captured Corinth and left her a desolate heap of ruins.

But any place with the geographical situation of Corinth could not remain a devastation. Almost exactly one hundred years later, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt her and she arose from her ruins. Now she became a Roman colony. More, she became a capital city, the metropolis of the Roman province of Achaea, which included practically all Greece.

In those days, which were the days of Paul, her population was very mixed. (i) There were the Roman veterans whom Julius Caesar had settled there. When a Roman soldier had served his time, he was granted the citizenship and was then sent out to some newly-founded city and given a grant of land so that he might become a settler there. These Roman colonies were planted all over the world, and always the backbone of them was the contingent of veteran regular soldiers whose faithful service had won them the citizenship. (ii) When Corinth was rebuilt the merchants came back, for her situation still gave her commercial supremacy. (iii) There were many Jews among the population. The rebuilt city offered them commercial opportunities which they were not slow to take. (iv) There was a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians and people from the east, with their exotic customs and their hysterical ways. Farrar speaks of "this mongrel and heterogeneous population of Greek adventurers and Roman bourgeois, with a tainting infusion of Phoenicians; this mass of Jews, ex-soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, trades-people, hucksters and agents of every form of vice." He characterizes her as a colony "without aristocracy, without traditions and without well-established citizens."

Remember the background of Corinth, remember its name for wealth and luxury, for drunkenness and immorality and vice, and then read 1Co_6:9-10 .

Are you not aware that the unrighteous will not inherit the

Kingdom of God? Make no mistake--neither fornicators, nor

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sensualists, nor homosexuals, nor

thieves, nor rapacious men, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor

robbers shall inherit the Kingdom of God--and such were some of

you.

In this hotbed of vice, in the most unlikely place in all the Greek world, some of Paulgreatest work was done, and some of the mightiest triumphs of Christianity were won.

Paul In Corinth

Paul stayed longer in Corinth than in any other city, with the single exception of Ephesus. He had left Macedonia with his life in peril and had crossed over to Athens. There he had had little success and had gone on to Corinth, and he remained there for eighteen months. We realize how little we really know of his work when we see that the whole story of that eighteen months is compressed by Luke into 17 verses (Act_18:1-17 ).

When Paul arrived in Corinth he took up residence with Aquila and Prisca. He preached in the synagogue with great success. With the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia, he redoubled his efforts, but the Jews were so stubbornly hostile that he had to leave the synagogue. He took up his residence with one Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. His most notable convert was Crispus, who was actually the ruler of the synagogue, and amongst the general public he had good success.

In the year A.D. 52 there came to Corinth as its new governor a Roman called Gallio. He was famous for his charm and gentleness. The Jews tried to take advantage of his newness and good nature and brought Paul to trial before him on a charge of teaching contrary to their law. But Gallio, with impartial Roman justice, refused to have anything to do with the case or to take any action. So Paul completed his work in Corinth and moved on to Syria.

The Correspondence With Corinth

It was when he was in Ephesus in the year A.D. 55 that Paul, learning that things were not all well in Corinth, wrote to the church there. There is every possibility that the Corinthian correspondence as we have it is out of order. We must remember that it was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that Paulcorrespondence was collected. In many churches it must have existed only on scraps of papyrus and the putting it together would be a problem: and it seems that, when the Corinthian letters were collected, they were not all discovered and were not arranged in the right order. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened.

(i) There was a letter which preceded 1 Corinthians. In 1Co_5:9 Paul writes, "I wrote you a letter not to associate with immoral men." This obviously refers to some previous letter. Some scholars believe that letter is lost without trace. Others think it is contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 . Certainly that passage suits what Paul said he wrote about. It occurs rather awkwardly in its context, and, if we take it out and read straight on from 2Co_6:13 to 2Co_7:2 , we get excellent sense and connection. Scholars call this letter The Previous Letter. (In the original letters there were no chapter or verse divisions. The chapters were not divided up until the thirteenth century and the verses not till the sixteenth, and because of that the arranging of the collection of letters would be much more difficult).

(ii) News came to Paul from various sources of trouble at Corinth. (a) News came from those who were of the household of Chloe (1Co_1:11 ). They brought news of the contentions with which the church was torn. (b) News came with the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus to Ephesus. (1Co_16:17 ). By personal contact they were able to fill up the gaps in Paulinformation. (c) News came in a letter in which the Corinthian Church had asked Paul guidance on various problems. In 1Co_7:1 Paul begins, "Concerning the matters about which you wrote..." In answer to all this information Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and despatched it to Corinth apparently by the hand of Timothy (1Co_4:17 ).

(iii) The result of the letter was that things became worse than ever, and, although we have no direct record of it, we can deduce that Paul paid a personal visit to Corinth. In 2Co_12:14 he writes, "The third time I am ready to come to you." In 2Co_13:1-2 , he says again that he is coming to them for the third time. Now, if there was a third time, there must have been a second time. We have the record of only one visit, whose story is told in Act_18:1-17 . We have no record at all of the second, but Corinth was only two or three daysailing from Ephesus.

(iv) The visit did no good at all. Matters were only exacerbated and the result was an exceedingly severe letter. We learn about that letter from certain passages in 2 Corinthians. In 2Co_2:4 Paul writes, "I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." In 2Co_7:8 he writes, "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it; for I see that that letter has grieved you, though only for a while." It was a letter which was the product of anguish of mind, a letter so severe that Paul was almost sorry that he ever sent it.

Scholars call this The Severe Letter. Have we got it? It obviously cannot be I Corinthians, because it is not a tear-stained and anguished letter. When Paul wrote it, it is clear enough that things were under control. Now if we read through 2 Corinthians we find an odd circumstance. In 2Cor 1-9 everything is made up, there is complete reconciliation and all are friends again; but at 2Cor 10 comes the strangest break. 2Cor 10-13 are the most heartbroken cry Paul ever wrote. They show that he has been hurt and insulted as he never was before or afterwards by any church. His appearance, his speech, his apostleship, his honesty have all been under attack.

Most scholars believe that 2Cor 10-13 are the severe letter, and that they have become misplaced when Paulletters were put together. If we want the real chronological course of Paulcorrespondence with Corinth, we really ought to read 2Cor 10-13 before 2Cor 1-9. We do know that this letter was sent off with Titus. (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:13 ).

(v) Paul was worried about this letter. He could not wait until Titus came back with an answer, so he set out to meet him (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:5 , 2Co_7:13 ). Somewhere in Macedonia he met him and learned that all was well, and, probably at Philippi, he sat down and wrote 2Cor 1-9, the letter of reconciliation.

Stalker has said that the letters of Paul take the roof off the early churches and let us see what went on inside. Of none of them is that truer than the letters to Corinth. Here we see what "the care of all the churches" must have meant to Paul. Here we see the heart-breaks and the joys. Here we see Paul, the shepherd of his flock, bearing the sorrows and the problems of his people on his heart.

The Corinthian Correspondence

Before we read the letters in detail let us set down the progress of the Corinthian correspondence in tabular form.

(i) The Previous Letter, which may be contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 .

(ii) The arrival of Chloepeople, of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, and of the letter to Paul from the Corinthian Church.

(iii) 1 Corinthians is written in reply and is despatched with Timothy.

(iv) The situation grows worse and Paul pays a personal visit to Corinth, which is so complete a failure that it almost breaks his heart.

(v) The consequence is The Severe Letter, which is almost certainly contained in 2Cor 10-13, and which was despatched with Titus.

(vi) Unable to wait for an answer, Paul sets out to meet Titus. He meets him in Macedonia, learns that all is well and, probably from Philippi, writes 2Cor 1-9, The Letter of Reconciliation.

The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with the divided state of the Church of God at Corinth. Instead of being a unity in Christ it was split into sects and parties, who had attached themselves to the names of various leaders and teachers. It is Paulteaching that these divisions had emerged because the Corinthians thought too much about human wisdom and knowledge and too little about the sheer grace of God. In fact, for all their so-called wisdom, they are really in a state of immaturity. They think that they are wise men, but really they are no better than babies.

FURTHER READING

2 Corinthians

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians (NCB; E)

J. Hering, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (translated by A. W. Heathcote and P. J. Allcock)

A. Plummer, 2 Corinthians (ICC; G)

R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (TC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

Comforted To Comfort (2Co_1:1-7)

Driven Back On God (2Co_1:8-11)

Our Only Boast (2Co_1:12-14)

God's Yes In Jesus Christ (2Co_1:15-22)

When A Saint Rebukes (2Co_1:23-24; 2Co_2:1-4)

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church. One man in particular seems to have been the ringleader of the opposition (10:7). He had rallied the support of a significant minority. The issue was Paul's apostolic authority. His critics were claiming authority equal with Paul's. This was in effect a claim to apostolic authority on their part or a denial of the full apostolic authority of Paul.

News of continuing problems in Corinth reached Paul in Ephesus during his prolonged stay there during his third missionary journey. He then made a brief visit to Corinth. However his efforts to resolve the conflicts fell through (2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). Paul apparently suffered insult and lost face during that visit (2:5-8; 7:12). Consequently this was a painful visit for Paul. He then returned to Ephesus.

Paul's next step in dealing with the situation in Corinth was to send a severe letter from Ephesus by the hand of Titus and another unnamed brother (2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). He apparently directed this letter, now lost, at the party opposed to him and particularly its leader. Some commentators believe that 2 Corinthians 10-13 contains part of this letter, but the evidence for this is not convincing.¹

Paul evidently intended to receive Titus' report concerning the effects of this severe letter in Ephesus. However, persecution there made it expedient for Paul to leave that city earlier than he had anticipated (Acts 20:1). He found an open door for the gospel to the north in Troas. Eager to meet Titus who was taking the land route from Corinth back to Ephesus Paul moved west into Macedonia (2:12-13). There Titus met him and gave him an encouraging report (7:6-16). Most of the church had responded to Paul's directives and the church had disciplined the troublemakers (2:5-11). Unfortunately some in the congregation still refused to acknowledge Paul's authority over them (10:1-13:10).

Paul rejoiced at the repentance of the majority. However his concern for the unrepentant minority and his desire to pick up the money the Corinthians had begun to collect for their poorer brethren in Jerusalem led him to write 2 Corinthians. Along with these primary motives Paul also felt compelled to refute the charge of fickleness leveled at him by his critics. He had changed his travel plans and had not come to see them as he had said he would.

The whole situation provided him an opportunity to clarify the nature of Christian ministry.

Paul wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea, probably in the fall or winter of 56 A.D. A date a year earlier or later is possible.

Some commentators believe Paul wrote 1 Corinthians after his painful visit and after he wrote the severe letter.² I believe it is more probable that he wrote 1 Corinthians before these two events.³ It is very difficult to reconstruct the details of Paul's activities since the data available to us is incomplete.

Paul's Corinthian Contacts
Paul's founding visit	His "former letter"	The Corin-thians' letter to him	First Corin-thians	Paul's "painful visit"	His "severe letter"	Second Corin-thians	Paul's antici-pated visit

"2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter."⁴

"Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God's Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God's people."⁵

Message⁶

The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?

He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is ministry per se (philosophy of ministry), and there is ministry to the world (practice of ministry).

Let's consider first what Paul revealed about the ministry of the church per se. This is the way Paul spoke of ministry most often in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on the practice of ministry than on the philosophy of ministry.

Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. Jesus Christ is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church was having a major problem because some in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ as an apostle and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was a practical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bow to the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and responding appropriately to those He has appointed to various roles in the body. We identify these people by their gifts (divinely given abilities) and by their offices (divinely given positions).

Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church's ministry. He emphasized three primarily.

One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this in the first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in our texts, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort through encouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete in John 14-16. Paul both taught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfort always exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret to finding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is really proceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed, too.

A second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or a message that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thus, revelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personal encouragement. We, too, have received the same message to communicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation, and it is the source of our encouragement.

A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for and counted on the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through him as he ministered (1:11). He realized that his own prayers would not move God to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf. James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self rather than confidence in God.

In addition to the authority and resources of our ministry, Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three features mark experience in ministry.

First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in 2 Corinthians about the afflictions he experienced during his ministry. Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministry who is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcome the gospel. To them it is a death scent. We should expect to experience tribulation in ministry. We have all experienced this in witnessing to some extent.

Second, another thing that should mark our ministry is hope. God has revealed the end of our ministry. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and receive a reward one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty. The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and suffer discouragement rather than press toward the mark. The end of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.

Third, a mark of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealed and illustrated by his own attitude that no matter how response to our ministry may appear to us our ministry is always triumphant. The reason for this is that God is at work through His ministers. One of the problems Paul's critics in Corinth had and that we have is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather than realistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God has revealed is happening, not what appears to be happening.

Paul not only revealed much about ministry per se in 2 Corinthians, he also revealed a lot about the ministry of the church to the world. Three emphases predominate.

First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is: the Word of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. By "the Word" Paul meant the revelation God has given us. In his day it consisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he and the other New Testament prophets had received that were for all Christians. Paul contrasted his message and ours with the message of Moses and exulted in its superiority. God has removed the veil and we can now see His glory clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry to the world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world's sins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letter in all these respects. As these characteristics mark us we, too, will be ready to minister.

Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. In exercising its ministry the church does three things according to this epistle.

1. It exercises discipline to restore the erring to effective ministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of the rebellious critics in the Corinthian church to unity and usefulness.

2. The church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul's concern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be an encouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel could proceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond.

3. Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate the principle of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history, namely that those who have should share with those who have not. This applies not only to the gospel message but to the physical necessities of life (chs. 8-9).

From these emphases the message of the book emerges. The church needs to submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources and equipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its mission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation to the world.

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-11

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

II. Answers to insinuations about the sincerity of Paul's commitment to the Corinthians and to the ministry 1:12-7:16

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

2. The treatment of the offender and the result of the severe letter 2:5-17

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

3. The sufferings and supports of a minister of the gospel 4:7-5:10

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

C. Appeal for restoration of the Corinthians' confidence in him 6:11-7:16

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

2. The encouraging response of the Corinthians so far 7:5-16

III. Instructions concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea 8:1-9:15

A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7

B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15

C. The delegates of the churches 8:16-24

D. The anticipated visit of Paul 9:1-5

E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15

IV. Appeals concerning Paul's apostolic authority 10:1-13:10

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

2. Reply to the charge of weakness 10:7-11

3. Reply to the charge of intrusion 10:12-18

B. Claims made by Paul 11:1-12:18

1. Paul's reasons for making these claims 11:1-6

2. Freedom to minister without charge 11:7-15

3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33

4. Special revelations Paul received 12:1-10

5. Paul's supernatural miracles and paternal love 12:11-18

C. Exhortations in view of Paul's approaching visit 12:19-13:10

1. Paul's concerns 12:19-21

2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10

V. Conclusion 13:11-14

A. The exhortation 13:11-12

B. The salutation 13:13

C. The benediction 13:14

Constable: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The subject and design of this second Epistle to the Corinthians, is much the same as of the former. He comforts and congratulates with those who were now reformed by his admonitions. He blames the faulty with apostolical liberty; and being forced to justify himself and his proceedings against the upstart false teachers, he gives an ample account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces, which God had bestowed upon him. This Epistle was written not long after the first, (an. 57. [in the year 57.]) some months before that to the Romans, from some place in Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, as marked at the end of divers Greek copies, though it is observed, that those subscriptions are not much to be relied upon. (Witham) --- In this Epistle St. Paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former, and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. Hence he treats of true penance, and of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament. He cautions the faithful against false teachers, and the society of infidels. He gives an account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces which God hath bestowed on him. (Challoner) --- St. Paul, not being able to come to the Corinthians as soon as he had promised, writes this Epistle to inform them, that it was not through inconstancy, but on account of several weighty reasons, which had hitherto hindered him. Several other reasons, likewise, compelled him to write. For during his absence, several false teachers of the Jews had come amongst them, teaching them that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses, in order to be saved. St. Paul, therefore, first excuses himself, by saying, that the afflictions and troubles he had met with, had hindered him from coming to them. He next orders the fornicator to be restored to favour; after which, he extols his apostleship, forming a comparison between the law of Christ, and of Moses, wherein he blames the false teachers. He then subjoins an exhortation to a pious and holy life, with liberality in their alms, after the example of the Macedonians. As the false teachers had been very industrious in establishing their own reputation, by detracting from that of St. Paul, he enumerates his own sufferings, and the favours he had received from God, shewing that he had much more reason to glory than they; and concludes by exhorting them to correct those faults with which they still remained infected. (Estius) --- This letter may be justly appreciated as a perfect masterpiece of that animated and solid eloquence, which all interpreters so much admire in St. Paul. (Bible de Vence)

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Gill: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

This epistle, according to the subscription at the end of it, was written from Philippi of Macedonia; and though the subscriptions annexed to the epistles are not always to be depended on, yet it seems very likely that this was written from thence; for the apostle not finding Titus at Troas, as he expected, went into Macedonia, where he met with him, and had an account from him of the success of his first epistle; of the state and condition of the church, and of the temper and disposition of mind in which the members of it were, and which gave him great satisfaction; upon which he immediately wrote this second epistle, and sent it by the same person to them; see 2Co 2:12, 2Co 7:5. It is very probable it might be written the year after the former; and so it is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the year 56, as the former is in the year 55; though some place this in the year 60, and the other in 59. The occasion of this epistle was partly to excuse his not coming to them according to promise, and to vindicate himself from the charge of unfaithfulness, levity, and inconstancy on that account; and partly, since what he had wrote about the incestuous person, had had a good effect both upon him and them, to direct them to take off the censure that had been laid upon him, and restore him to their communion, and comfort him; likewise to stir them up to finish the collection for the poor saints they had begun; as also to defend himself against the calumnies of the false teachers, who were very industrious to sink his character and credit in this church; which he does by observing the doctrines of the Gospel he preached, which were far more glorious than, and abundantly preferable to, the ministration of the law of Moses, which those men desired to be teachers of; as likewise the success of his ministry in every place; the many sufferings he had underwent for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; the high favours and privileges he had received of the Lord, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles done by him in proof of his apostleship; and in which are interspersed many things useful and instructive.

Gill: 2 Corinthians 1 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 1

This chapter contains the inscription of the epistle, the salutation of the persons to whom it is written, the preface to it, and the first part of it, in which is the apostle's defence of himself from the charge of fickleness and inconstancy. The inscription is in 2Co 1:1, in which an account is given of the person, the writer of this epistle, by his name Paul, and by his office, an apostle of Jesus Christ, which is ascribed to the will of God as the spring and cause of it; and with himself he joins Timothy, whom he calls a brother: also an account is given of the persons to whom the epistle is inscribed, who are both the church at Corinth, and all the saints throughout the region of Achaia, of which Corinth was the chief city: the salutation, and which is common to all the epistles of the Apostle Paul, is in 2Co 1:2, and the preface begins 2Co 1:3, with a thanksgiving to God, who is described by the relation he stands in to Christ, as his Father, by the manifold mercies and blessings he is the author and donor of, and by the consolation he administers; an instance of which is given, 2Co 1:4, in the apostle and his companions, who had been comforted by him; the end of which was, that they might be instruments of comforting others in like troubles with the same consolations; the great goodness of God in which is illustrated by proportioning their consolation by Christ to their sufferings for him, 2Co 1:5, and the end both of their afflictions and their comforts is repeated and explained; and by a dilemma it is shown, that both were for the good of the saints at Corinth, 2Co 1:6, and a strong assurance is given, that as they shared in sufferings for Christ, they would partake of consolation by him as they had done, 2Co 1:7. Next the apostle, in proof of what he had said, gives an instance of the trouble he had been in, and of the comfort and deliverance he had received, which he would not have the Corinthians ignorant of: he mentions the place where it was, in Asia, and gives an account of the nature of the affliction, how great it was; it was out of measure, above the strength of man, and induced despair of life, 2Co 1:8, so that the apostle, and those that were with him in it, expected nothing but death, and were under the sentence of it in their own apprehensions; the end of God in suffering which, was to take them off of all self-confidence, and to engage their trust in God, to which the consideration of his power in raising the dead is a strong argument, 2Co 1:9. And indeed this deliverance, which God wrought, for the apostle, and his friends, was a deliverance as it were from death, and a very great one; and which had this effect upon them, the designed and desired end, trust and confidence in God for future deliverance, having had an experience of past and present, 2Co 1:10, which deliverance the apostle acknowledges, was owing to the prayers of the Corinthians, as a means or helping cause of it; and which favour was bestowed thereby for this end, that as it came by the means of many, thanks might be returned by many for it, 2Co 1:11. And the reason why the apostle, and his fellow ministers, had such an interest in the prayers of the Corinthians, was their agreeable conversation in the world, and particularly at Corinth, which their consciences bore witness to, and they could reflect upon with pleasure; it being through the grace of God with great simplicity and sincerity, and not with carnal craft and subtlety: or this is mentioned by the apostle to remove the charge of levity, and to vindicate himself and others from it, 2Co 1:12, which he next enters upon, premising that the constant course of their lives was such as before described, and which there was no reason to doubt would always continue such; for the truth of which he appeals to what they had seen, and owned to be in them, 2Co 1:13, and that it was acknowledged, at least in part, that the apostles were their rejoicing, or of whom they boasted as to their conduct and conversation, even as they were persuaded they would be matter of rejoicing in the day of Christ to them, 2Co 1:14. And then the apostle acknowledges his intention and promise of coming to them, which was in confidence of their value for him, and of their being real Christians and persevering ones; and for this end, that he might establish them in the grace which they had received, 2Co 1:15, and also, after he had passed by them into Macedonia, and was returned from thence to them again, that he might be helped on by them in his journey to Jerusalem, with the collection for the poor saints there, 2Co 1:16. But then he denies that he used levity, or carnal policy and purposes, or was guilty of any contradiction; all which expresses by certain interrogations, 2Co 1:17, which confirms by the ministration of the Gospel among them, which was all of apiece, without contradiction for the truth of which he calls God to witness; and so argues from the uniformity of his ministry, to the constancy of his word of promise, 2Co 1:18. Which argument he amplifies and enlarges on, by observing the subject matter of the Gospel ministry, which is Jesus Christ the Son of God; and which, though preached by different ministers, himself, Silvanus, and Timothy, yet was the same, had no contrariety in it, as preached by the one, and by the other, 2Co 1:19, and therefore there was no reason to conclude that he was fickle and inconstant in his promise to them, when he was so invariable in his ministry among them: besides, as all the promises of God are sure and certain, being made by the God of truth, and being in Christ, and the performance of them being for the glory of God by the saints; so the promises of every good man, in imitation of God and Christ, are firmly and constantly observed, as much as can be by frail and finite creatures, 2Co 1:20; and that the apostle, and his fellow ministers, were not so fickle and changeable as they were represented, neither in their principles, nor in their practices, the apostle takes notice of some blessings of grace, which they enjoyed in common with other saints, and with the Corinthians; such as stability in Christ, the unction of divine grace, the seal and earnest of the Spirit in their hearts; all which they had from God, and which kept them close to God, and preserved them in his grace, and from a fickle variable temper of mind, and from changeableness either in doctrine or conduct, 2Co 1:21. And then the apostle proceeds to give the true reason why he had not as yet come to Corinth, according to his promise, which was on their account, and not his own, that they might not come under that severe discipline and correction, which their faults required; and for the truth of this he calls God to witness, 2Co 1:23. But lest it should be objected that this was assuming a dominion over them, a lording it over God's heritage, he observes, that he and his fellow ministers did not pretend to have dominion over their faith, only to be helpers of their joy, 2Co 1:24.

College: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

Studying 2 Corinthians plunges the modern reader back to the real, tumultuous world of early Christianity. The simple ideals of sharing and goodwill described in Acts 2:42-47 seem to have little place among the diverse converts from this boomtown of Corinth where Paul chooses to anchor his Greek mission. Rather, this microcosm of the early church bickers and accuses, revels in disorder and confusion, reeks of unrenounced pagan practices, and uncritically pursues self-promotion and even disloyalty to Paul, its founder.

When we speak of restoring the NT church, the Corinthian church is not what we have in mind. But maybe this is where we should really start: a real community of believers struggling to understand and implement their Christian faith against the helter-skelter backdrop of values and principles they desired to leave behind. As we understand what Paul teaches this troubled church, we will learn badly needed principles to help bring to maturity our own, real churches which inherit the same struggle.

Second Corinthians stands in stark contrast to Paul's other NT writings in a number of ways. Other letters, like 1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are carefully ordered, easily outlined, logical, controlled, as Paul confidently responds to carefully gauged concerns. Methodically, he establishes crucial, theological principles as the basis for practical, behavioral appeals.

By contrast, 2 Corinthians is chaotic and disjointed. Digressions lead the reader far afield before returning to the point. So uneven is 2 Corinthians, that many scholars suggest it is a composite of four or five writings, even a number of conservative scholars admitting two. Intensity, emotion, defensiveness, and second-guessing rather than controlled reasoning bind this epistle together. We see Paul at his weakest, basest, most human. Yet seeing him work through the truth of the gospel in the midst of exasperating difficulties is enlightening.

To a certain extent, it is healthy for our lofty ideals of this giant to be punctured and brought down to reality, even as the Corinthian church does so for our view of the early church. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians at this historical juncture is ugly, and readers deserve to be warned about how disconcerting seeing this can be.

These features of 2 Corinthians make studying and understanding the text much more dependent than usual on grasping the historical circumstances behind and leading up to its writing. Without a clear grasp of the historic story, hopeless confusion will engulf efforts to interpret the text at a number of points.

So, study of 2 Corinthians must begin by seeking to understand the Corinth of Paul's day and Paul's relationship to the local church there before preceding to a reliable interpretation of the text.

THE CITY OF CORINTH

Fortunately, Corinth is a NT city we know a great deal about. It has been heavily excavated and was minutely described by classical writers like Strabo and Dio Chrysostom.

The city that Paul entered in A.D. 50 had been resurrected from the ashes of the old city burned to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C. Having laid in ruins for 100 years, two years before his death in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that Corinth (and also Carthage) should be rebuilt. Although located just 60 miles from Athens on the narrow isthmus strategically joining the Greek mainland to the Peloponnesus, the new Corinth was built and organized as a Roman city. Its colonists were gleaned from freedmen, former slaves originating from Syria, Egypt, Judea, Greece, and from retiring Roman soldiers.

The city's layout and its buildings were Roman, as was its governmental organization and law. Its official language was Latin, although Greek was the common language for business and conversation. The people prized Roman articles, importing them in great quantities. In addition to the four magistrates elected each year and its city council, it was administrated by a proconsul appointed annually by the Roman senate.

Corinth's dominance over the five-mile wide isthmus insured economic vitality. Ships traveling between Italy and Asia Minor were happy to pay the fee to cross the isthmus rather than sail the extra 200 miles south around treacherous Cape Malae. Besides, Corinth had even constructed a grooved pavement, called the Diolkos, between the ports on either side of the isthmus on which smaller ships could be hauled in wheeled vehicles. For a larger ship, the goods were loaded on transport carts and reloaded onto another ship waiting at the other harbor.

Julius Caesar dreamed of increasing Corinth's stock by constructing a canal across the isthmus. Not until Nero, A.D. 67., was such a project begun. Actual completion, however was not achieved until modern times, in 1893.

With the two ports, Laechaeum, on the Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchraea, on the Saronic Gulf, Corinth thrived as a center for trade. The major land route between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesus also went through it. Besides shipbuilding and repair, it hosted bronze, tile, and pottery factories, as well as the necessary warehousing for transportable goods. Corinth's market areas boasted hundreds of stalls filled with craftsmen plying their trade, locals selling merchandise and food, as well as visitors from throughout the empire hawking imported items. They even had places which sold drinks cooled by underground water systems. Paul himself, we know, took up a leather-working stall in this area for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-3).

New Corinth was an eclectic, international city from its inception. In Paul's day, it was a bustling, wide open, boomtown, with over 80,000 inhabitants, and growing every day. It had already outstripped Athens politically, replacing it as the capital of Achaia.

Corinth's prestige was further enhanced by its hosting of the Isthmian Games, second only in significance to the Olympics. Held every two years in Corinth since A.D. 3, these games drew thousands of tourists and lots of business. The city's most prestigious political official was the one responsible for administering the games, occupying a prominent year-round governmental office. The games were dedicated to the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and featured oratory, music, and drama, as well as athletic contests. A dramatic theater as well as a 20,000 seat stadium were used for these events.

Corinth's eclecticism revealed itself in an array of religious choices established by its multicultural inhabitants. Egyptians promoted the cults of Isis and Osiris. Isis was worshiped as a god for sailors because the myth tells of her enduring search on the seas for her betrayed and lost husband Osiris. Osiris is a god of afterlife, who after his death was resurrected to become head of the underworld.

Greeks and Romans honored Poseidon, god of the sea; Athena, goddess of war, the sea, cities and the arts; Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility; Apollo, god of prophecy; Asklepios, god of healing; and emperors beginning with Julius Caesar. Prominent temples and statues are dedicated to all of these. Apollos often features prominently in colonized cities as an ode of good fortune. His famous Delphic oracle is only some 30 miles from Corinth. The much publicized report that Old Corinth's temple to Aphrodite housed over 1,000 sacred prostitutes is regarded as Athenian slander and is not so certain to still be functioning this way in Paul's day, although this does not mean to imply that Corinth was any more sexually pristine than any other seaport.

One of the busiest religious centers in Paul's day was the Asklepium. Comparable to a modern-day health club, people came here to bathe in its fountain, sleep (healing in their dreams), excercise, read, and dine (on sacrificial meat, cf. 1 Cor 8:10; 10:21). Replicas of body parts found in excavations were offered to the Asklepios by thankful beneficiaries of his healing.

Though not a god, Sisyphus, was considered one of the founding kings of ancient Corinth. Noted for his craftiness, in Greek mythology he was banished to Hades with the everlasting task of pushing a rock up a hill only to have it slip back down. For the Corinthian in Paul's day, he stands for successful cunning in business, but behind the temporary luster, perhaps, he signifies the emptiness of life's ambitions that lurked in the background of people's thoughts.

Judaism came with the early Jewish colonists and seems to have thrived. A dynamic synagogue certainly was functioning when Paul arrived, according to Acts 18:4-17. Also, a building inscription reading "Synagogue of the Hebrews" has been found by archaeologists along the Lechaeum road. Although the inscription is somewhat later than Paul's day, its location in the city center suggests the prominence of Judaism from the early days of New Corinth. Significant increases to the Jewish population likely occurred in A.D. 19 and in the late 40s when Tiberius and then Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. According to Acts 18:2, the latter purge is what brought Aquila and Priscilla and their tentmaking business to Corinth for the eighteen months Paul evangelized there. As Acts 18:8,17 indicate, the Jewish community probably had a certain amount of freedom to manage its own affairs and to appoint its own officials.

Due to Roman influence, Corinthians banded together into self-governing clubs and societies of 10 to 15 people which met in homes around the city. These clubs were delineated by individual trades or professions. Something like small unions, they provided vital social interaction and shared meals but even underwrote members' burial expenses from their kitty of dues. Although each had its sponsoring god, they were not religious in nature.

Most likely, the Corinthian church of Paul's day took on the pattern of these clubs as they met in various homes throughout the city. This helps explain the household factions decried in 1 Cor 1:10-12 and even the food-related problems of 1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34.

Corinth in the time of Paul was a city of wealth and prosperity. The families who had come a generation or two previously had worked hard. They had carved out successful lives by their own sweat and ingenuity. Like American immigrants, they were proud of their accomplishments, which they demonstrated in their proliferation of self-commending inscriptions around the city. But like the grandchildren of immigrants today, the Corinthians of Paul's day were noted for their superficial materialism and moral perversity. Such traits are epitomized by the fact that before the century was over, Corinth would become the first Greek city in the Roman Empire to hold bloodthirsty gladiatorial shows.

PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS

Paul's rocky, seven-year relationship with the Corinthians begins in the fall of A.D. 50 as he enters Corinth on what becomes the last stop of his second missionary journey. Already on the road for a year, he had established churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, despite opposition from Gentiles, Jews, and intellectuals (Acts 16-17). As Acts 18 describes, he enters the din of Corinth alone but is quickly befriended by Aquila and Priscilla, who were probably already Christians when they came to Corinth from Rome. For eighteen months the three of them lived, worked, and spread the gospel together there, eventually joined by Silas and Timothy.

At first, Paul shared the gospel and fielded questions in the Jewish synagogue. It wasn't too long, however, before stiff opposition to his presence arose, and he was ejected. However, he took with him many new Christians from among the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, as well as Jews including the head of the synagogue, Crispus. Boldly, they set up shop for the first church right next door in the home of Titius Justus. Presumably, they continued to meet there and in other homes around the city for the next eighteen months, since God had instructed Paul to remain in Corinth despite the risks of conflict.

Sparks did fly, and at one point the Jews pressed charges against Paul for breaking Jewish law before Gallio, the Roman proconsul. Quite rightly, Gallio rebuffed the Jewish accusations as being outside any Roman concern. Although this may seem like a relatively minor incident in the life of Paul, the mention of Gallio in Acts 18:14 emerges as the single most important event enabling us to date Paul's life with accuracy. The reason for this is that archaeologists have discovered a datable inscription about a boundary dispute from Emperor Claudius to Gallio which places Gallio's one-year term between A.D. 51 and 52. Anchored by Paul's encounter with Gallio being A.D. 51, the rest of Paul's life can be dated backward and forward from time periods provided in the Acts and his letters.

Upon leaving Corinth, Paul sailed to Syria, probably Antioch, before quickly setting out over land to revisit the previously established churches in Asia Minor and then settling in Ephesus for three years. While in Ephesus, he sent the Corinthians three letters and slipped across the Aegean Sea in a vessel for a brief, surprise visit.

The first letter, commonly known as the "previous letter," is mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9-11. Given the wild immorality of Corinth, it is not surprising that Paul emphasized separation from such people in this letter. However, it has never been found, although a few scholars believe 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 may have originally been part of it.

Next, Paul received a letter from the Corinthians asking various specific questions about Christian life and practice. He is also informed verbally from members of Chloe's household (1 Cor 1:11) about the factionalism that is hurting the church's witness. He responded with the letter we know of as 1 Corinthians. During this period, Timothy was dispatched to Corinth for a brief time (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10) as Paul's personal ambassador, perhaps to give further voice to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians or to other issues Paul anticipated. We have no indication as to how long Timothy stayed.

Paul's brief trip to Corinth in A.D. 54 and the letter on its heels upon his return are chief events which underlie Paul's writing of 2 Corinthians in A.D. 56. We don't know why Paul went. Maybe Timothy reported that Paul's personal presence was needed. Possibly, conservative agitators had followed Paul to Corinth as they previously had to Galatia and were stirring up trouble, causing the Corinthians to second-guess Paul's credibility (2 Cor 11:13). What we do know is that this trip, usually described as "the painful visit" (2 Cor 2:1), was a complete disaster. Paul left angry and humiliated. Apparently, he confronted the ringleader of the trouble (perhaps someone in the church who had been influenced by the outsiders) face to face but when the man insulted him, no one in the church came to Paul's defense.

Speculation regarding the accusations hurled at Paul include the illegitimacy of his authority over the Corinthians and his misuse of funds collected for the Jerusalem offering (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 7:2; 8:11). This was not a theological issue so much as one of personal integrity. Paul speaks of his being hurt emotionally most by the fact that the church did not side with him (2 Cor 2:5-11).

Upon his return, Paul wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, "the severe letter" (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Although not existing today, as described in 2 Cor 2:4-11 and 7:5-13, it was undoubtedly the most emotional and strident of any of Paul's letters. Apparently, he unleashed his anger and disappointment, scolding the church for not supporting him and demanding that the majority of the church take charge and discipline the offender as well as apologize to him. The letter is so harsh that Paul seems genuinely afraid ("fears within" - 2 Cor 7:5) that it will drive the church farther away from him and from Christ. But he sees no choice; this situation can't be left like it is.

Titus received the formidable task of delivering this explosive letter into the charged atmosphere of the Corinthian church and carrying out its demands. Paul's anxieties over Titus's success seem to overwhelm him as he waits for news. Apparently, the arrangements with Titus were that they would meet in Troas after a set period of time, maybe as long as six months. Second Corinthians 2:12 tells us that Paul went by land up to Troas, probably in A.D. 55 but was crushed to find Titus was not there. Remaining for some time evangelizing, maybe a month or so, he crossed over to Macedonia, probably Philippi, desperate to find Titus there. Finally, Titus arrived with the great news that the Corinthians - or most of them - were back in the fold. Genuinely remorseful over their hurtful behavior toward Paul, they had, indeed, dealt with the offender and expressed their renewed devotion to him (2 Cor 7:7,11,12).

The letter we call 2 Corinthians historically comes as Paul's fourth letter to Corinth. Buoyed by Titus's positive report, Paul writes this highly emotional letter, sending it back with Titus (2 Cor 7:17), probably A.D. 56. The letter interacts over and over with the events of the Painful Visit and the Severe Letter. Paul gushes with joy over the Corinthians' response (2 Cor 7:7,13-16), even recommending that they lift the punishment on the person who offended him (2 Cor 2:7). However, the tone of the letter is extremely defensive as Paul squirms under pressure from the Corinthians (most likely as advised by Titus) to toot his own horn regarding his own apostolic credentials. Out of his love for them, but against his own convictions against boasting, he is willing to explain the superiority of his apostleship in terms the Corinthians seem to require. These terms - such as providing letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1) and lists of accomplishments (2 Cor 6:3-13; 11:16-12:10) - Paul regards as superficial and unnecessary (2 Cor 3:2-3; 10:7) and probably reflect the influence of the conservative agitators upon the Corinthians. Paul seems to know he must respond, however uncomfortable it is for him, in order to block any further inroads from these outsiders and thus reinforce his renewed relationship with the Corinthians.

Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth armed with Paul's commendation within the letter to spur the church to complete its collection of the offering for the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:10-24). Paul followed a few months later (2 Cor 12:14; Acts 20:3) and remained in Corinth three months. During this period, he wrote Romans, but we know nothing of his interaction with the Corinthian church. Presumably, he finalized the Corinthian offering, but he must have worked diligently to solidify this troubled church and contend personally with the outside agitators and their remaining pockets of influence. At any rate, once the various representatives from the Greek and Asian churches arrived in Corinth with their offerings (Acts 20:1-6), he tried to set sail with them to Syria but, discovering treachery from the Jewish community in Corinth, he and the others traveled first to Troas, and, then, set sail from there.

We have no certainty of further communication or visitation between Paul and the Corinthian church after this. Possibly, following release from his first Roman imprisonment, he returned to Corinth and other churches in Greece and Asia Minor, as the Pastoral epistles suggest (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:20).

THE UNITY OF 2 CORINTHIANS

One may rightly comment that the literary unity of 2 Corinthians "cannot just be presupposed." Analyses which question whether various sections of 2 Corinthians are original to it have come long and hard during the past two centuries of critical scholarship. Second Corinthian's sharp shifts in content and uneven tone make it the most susceptible of all the NT books to patchwork theories despite the fact that none of the Greek manuscripts (dating back to the third century) give the slightest hint that 2 Corinthians was ever anything different than what we read today. Although the ebb and flow of research has sidelined many conjectures, questions still remain regarding some parts of 2 Corinthians. As many as nine sections of 2 Corinthians have been scrutinized. However, just five will be discussed here.

First, 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 has been noted as at one time existing separately from 2 Corinthians. Even a casual reader is jolted at the jump between the travelogue commentary in 2:12-13 and the military parade description of the gospel in 2:13-17 which opens a five-chapter philosophy of apostolic ministry. It is all the more noticeable when, beginning at 7:5, the travelogue picks up again and continues on until 7:16. However, upon closer perusal, scholars are increasingly reluctant to name this as part of a separate letter. Despite the abruptness between 2:13 and 2:14, the theme of human weakness and divine power in 2:12-17 connects to 1:8-10, and the theme of divine ownership connects 1:22 and 2:14. Despite the change of subject between 7:4 and 7:5, the verbal links supplied by "encouragement" (7:4,13), "joy" (7:4,7) and "troubles" (7:4,5) supply sturdy connections. Besides, the efforts to postulate yet another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians or to connect this to the Severe Letter are unwarranted. More recent efforts to anaylze 2 Corinthians 1-7 through the eyes of Roman rhetoric as well as chiastic structure loudly confirm separation of 2:14-7:4 as ill-conceived. Certainly, it is a digression but not without purpose and point to the context as a whole.

Second, perhaps less obvious to the casual reader because it is such a short section is 2 Cor 6:14-7:1. Here, again, though, the careful reader observes an interruption between 6:13 ("Open wide your hearts also") and 7:2 ("Make room for us in your hearts"). Scholarly analysis of these six verses suggests that not only are they out of place, they don't sound like Paul, using six words he never uses elsewhere in his writings nor used by anyone else in the NT ( hapax legomenae ). Is this a snippet of something someone else said or wrote that Paul has adapted into his material, or is it something Paul wrote or spoke at another time and place that he decides to use here?

Despite some of the unusual language, Pauline themes do appear here: the church as the temple of God, the polarization of righteousness and unrighteousness as well as between light and dark. Also, plenty of characteristic Pauline language occurs: "living God" (2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9), "unbeliever" (twelve other occurrences in 1 and 2 Cor), and "holiness" (Rom 1:4; 1 Thess 3:13). Although conclusions vary, many today incline toward this section being from Paul.

Eyeing the language of separation from unrighteousness, some have been tempted to conclude that 6:14-7:1 is part of the "previous" letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. However, the point is explicitly different. Paul emphasizes that in the previous letter he urged separation from the immorality of believers not dissociation from unbelievers as emphasized in 6:14-7:1.

Most likely, then, Paul himself has inserted this pre-formed, self-contained unit of material from previous teaching, either oral or written, perhaps influenced by others. Interesting comparisons to Qumran materials as well as writings of Philo have been made. The placement exactly here in 2 Corinthians is so awkward as to be unlikely to come from anyone other than Paul. However, two points should be kept in mind. One is that Paul dictated this letter as he did all his letters. This fact enhances the potential for distraction, interruption, and loose digressions such as this. A second point is that although the section's relationship to the immediately previous verses is not obvious, as one backs up to 6:1 and reads of Paul's concern about receiving "God's grace in vain" or to 5:19 to see Paul's emphasis on people "no longer living for themselves but for him who died for them," Paul's emphasis on separation and holiness in 6:14-7:1 fits well.

Probably inconceivable to the casual reader is the suggestion that 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 both were not originally part of 2 Corinthians. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 8 - repetition of information about Titus (7:13-15; 8:16-17), presumption of knowledge about the two brothers coming with him (8:18,22), or even evidence that 2 Corinthians 8 as well as 2 Corinthians 9 are formal business letters - do not convince many. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 9, first proposed by Semler 200 years ago, that 2 Corinthians 9 was originally a letter sent to Christians outside Corinth, are more formidable, and give scholars more pause.

What pulls them up short is the language Paul uses to refer to the collection ("service") in 9:1, which, in Greek, reads like a first mention of the collection. In addition to that, the regional reference to Achaia in 9:2 and the repetition of information from chapter 8 in chapter 9 regarding the collection give added support to the idea of chapter 9 being originally independent.

On the other side of the question is the fact that Paul's reference to the collection in 9:1 is modified by ( men gar , "and for") which suggests a resumption of a previous subject perhaps after a brief pause in dictation. The repetition of details regarding the collection is probably emphatic, and the regional reference to Achaia seems unlikely to exclude Corinth. Tipping the scale against an independent chapter 9, as noted by Furnish, are two references in chapter 9 which presume information from chapter 8: the mention of the brothers (9:3; 8:18) and the emphasis on their completing the collection (9:4-5; 8:7-15).

Admittedly, this is a close call. However, the evidence does not demand that chapters 8 and 9 are two separate letters about the collection, one to Corinth, and one to Achaia. Rather, these are interdependent chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8 dealing with the details of the collection project and chapter 9 emphasizing motivation for the project, as noted by Danker.

Fourth, without a doubt the most serious challenge to the unity of 2 Corinthians comes from chapters 10-13. As long ago as 1870, Hausrath broadcast his belief that in these chapters, he had discovered the missing "severe" letter to the Corinthians. No doubt, in chapters 10-13 Paul erupts into harsh tones of anger and disappointment which seem to undercut completely the exuberance and joy which he builds up to by chapters 7, 8, and 9.

But Hausrath looked closer and pointed to evidence that chapters 10-13 were written previous to chapters 1-9. Particularly he saw passages in chapters 1-9 written in the past tense which appear to allude to passages from chapters 10-13 written in future tenses, such as 1:23 which says that Paul "did not return" to them in order to spare them, corresponding to 13:2 in which Paul asserts that he "will not return" in order to spare them or when Paul says in 2:3-4 that he "wrote" them out of great distress and in 13:10 when he says "I write" so that I may not have to be harsh. Hausrath also contends that Paul's reference to Rome (west of Corinth) as "regions beyond you" in 2 Cor 10:16 makes much better sense if he is in Ephesus (east of Corinth), where he wrote the Severe Letter, rather than Macedonia (north of Corinth), where he wrote 2 Corinthians.

Criticism against Hausrath's identification of 2 Cor 10-13 with the "severe" letter has withered its persuasiveness among scholars. Primarily, chapters 10-13 do not contain something we know specifically was in the Severe Letter: Paul's demand that an individual who offended him be punished (2:5-6; 7:12). Also, chapters 10-13 promise a visit (12:14; 13:1), but the Severe Letter was sent in place of a Painful Visit (1:23; 2:1). Regarding "regions beyond you," the language need not be taken so literally and the Macedonian region should be recognized as much more culturally distinct from Achaia than it looks like on a map.

More appealing to scholars of all stripes, including many conservatives, is to view 2 Cor 10-13 as a separate, fifth letter, written after Titus returns with new, bad news after delivering 2 Corinthians 1-9. This position still takes into account Hausrath's future tense passages. It helps make sense of 2 Cor 12:18 which refers to Titus's visit in the past tense when it was in the planning stage in 2 Corinthians 7-9. Also, it explains the increased strident tones of chapters 10-13 as Paul's response to new, outside influences claiming some kind of rival apostolic authority to Paul's (11:13; 12:11) rather than to internal problems which seem to be his concern in chapters 1-9.

This way of viewing chapters 10-13 is attractive but is not demanded by the evidence. As Witherington points out, the past (aorist) tenses describing Titus's visit in 12:17-18 need not be real. Especially as Paul reaches the end of the book, they could well be epistolary (spoken from the standpoint of the audience reading the letter). The mention of the unnamed brother traveling with Titus does correspond with 2 Cor 8:18,22. Reading 12:17-18 this way opens up the very real possibility that Paul could have received new information about problems in Corinth before sending 2 Corinthians but after writing chapters 1-9. This could explain the gulf between chapters 10-13 as well as an entirely separate letter.

Other ways which account for the change of tone in chapter 10-13 have to do with how one reads the letter. Perhaps chapters 1-9 are directed to the majority of the church which has fallen into line with Paul after the Painful Visit, the Severe Letter, and Titus's hard work while chapters 10-13 are to the minority who are still under the sway of outside opposition to Paul. After all, 2 Cor 2:6 does speak of "the majority" which imposed discipline upon the offender named in the Severe Letter.

Perhaps, as a growing group of scholars are showing, Paul's heightened criticism of the Corinthians in chapters 10-13 concludes a calculated rhetorical plan employing counterattack ( synkrisis ) or strong emotional appeal ( peroratio ) to win his defense against the charges being leveled at him by the Corinthians. One must admit that Paul never relaxes from a defensive posture in 2 Corinthians from the beginning to the end. While Paul's harsh tones in chapters 10-13 following the lead up in chapters 7, 8, and 9 may seem abrupt, his concerns from early in the letter haven't really changed, just his emotionalism. The issue of his character raised in chapter 1 and of the legitimacy of his apostleship raised in chapter 3 remain the object of his defense in chapters 10-13.

The correspondence of these issues is enough to suggest that even though outside influence of "false apostles" (11:13) is not named earlier, they influence the minority of the Corinthian church and provide the ammunition against Paul observed in the earlier chapters. Who else would have brandished "letters of recommendation" (3:1)? Their earliest influences could even be in the background of Paul's problems associated with the Painful Visit.

As evident from 2 Cor 7:8-13, the offending individual merely became the pretext for the whole church failing to rally behind Paul until after the Severe Letter. Although Paul can be ecstatic that most of the church has recommitted themselves to him and to the gospel by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, nevertheless, pockets of opposition likely remain under the growing influence of the outside agitators. With chapters 10-13 Paul intends to level a decisive blow against this opposition not only to bring the remainder of the church back to the true gospel but also to shore up any lingering doubts from those who have pledged their loyalty.

Paul's transition to chapter 10 indeed is rocky but, as Danker points out, no more so than Phil 3 or Rom 9. In this commentary, therefore, we will treat 2 Corinthians as a unity and will treat chapters 10-13 as primarily aimed at responding to a vocal minority of the church who remain mesmerized by the outsiders' criticisms of Paul.

PAUL'S OPPONENTS

Second Corinthians resounds with the echo of outside voices filling the Corinthians' heads with notions geared to sever their relationship with Paul. Since Paul originally brought the gospel to Corinth and made it possible for people there to be reconciled with God through Christ and begin a vibrant church meeting in homes throughout the city, others have come to Corinth presenting themselves as superior in authority to the apostle Paul himself. Presuming the opponents in 2 Cor 10-13 and 1-9 are the same, they supposedly have letters of authentication from Jerusalem (3:1-3), Paul blasts them as "false apostles" (11:13) and sarcastically as "super apostles" in 12:11. Nevertheless, they have influenced and confused the Corinthians enough to force Paul to write 2 Corinthians and fill it with self-commendation regarding his integrity and his "superior" apostolic credentials over theirs. He does this because he feels he must in order to win the Corinthians back, but he finds doing so personally disturbing and repugnant.

Whereas Paul finds it difficult to boast about himself, self-commendation seems to be the chief characteristic of these outsiders. Clues from 2 Corinthians indicate that they were proud of their Jewish heritage (11:22), their "Christian" service (11:23), their oratorical skill (11:6), their self-confidence (1:15-17), and their charismatic experiences (12:12). They preached a different gospel than Paul's (11:4). They also accepted money from the Corinthians, unlike Paul who refused it (12:16). They may have viewed Paul's effort to collect money from the Corinthians for the Jerusalem Christians as cutting off their own purse strings and threatening their prosperity in Corinth.

Their heated, personalized efforts to undercut Paul sound like Paul's opposition in Galatians, commonly called Judaizers (Gal 4:17). However, no mention of the law or circumcision in 2 Corinthians clouds this identification and requires that, if these are the same people, they have changed their tune considerably since Galatians. The fact that they tout letters of recommendation - where else but from Jerusalem - makes it difficult to lay aside the picture of a band of renegade, conservative Jewish Christians who first followed Paul to Galatia and now to Corinth with the expressed purpose of replacing Paul's gospel and his authority to represent true Christianity (Gal 1:6-7).

It is going too far to say that their credentials were currently legitimate or that they were actual apostles since Acts 15:24 reports that a faction of Jewish Christians had gone out falsely representing the church to new, Gentile congregations. It is possible, though, that they do have apostolic credentials - perhaps even knew Jesus before his crucifixion - but now are misusing these credentials to subvert Paul's successful mission to Gentiles in Galatia and now also in Corinth and other churches as well.

The picture of these Corinthian opponents as ultraconservative Jewish Christians clashes with a considerable amount of the evidence which points to their Greek or even gnostic origins. Their connection to revelations and wonders, rhetorical skills, "worldly" wisdom, and just their overall egotistical posture must be reckoned with. Undermining at least the gnostic element is the positive use of "knowledge" in 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, a typical result when these ingredients are combined emerges with a conclusion that they were "Hellenistic Jews who were propagating . . . a 'spiritual gnosticism.'"

However, it seems inconceivable that ultraconservative Jewish Christians coming out of Jerusalem could be pushing a gospel so infiltrated with Greek ideas as to be outside the bounds of Paul's own radicalized message which had stripped unnecessary Jewish elements. Could these Jewish agitators be so clever as to be able to manipulate the Corinthians against Paul by successfully incorporating elements from Greek culture into their opposition to Paul which they themselves don't believe? It doesn't seem likely, but then no identification satisfactorily combines the paradoxical elements of these opponents as currently gleaned from the information we have from 2 Corinthians and the first century. As one commentator astutely points out, any final resolution is also hampered considerably by the fact that 2 Corinthians provides no information about the doctrine or theology of these opponents. Most current discussion recognizes the limitations involved in this discussion and offers no more than conjectures as has been done here.

It's best, then, to keep in mind the characteristics of Paul's opponents available from reading 2 Corinthians without any adamant historical identification until better information becomes available. They were Jewish. They were Greek. They considered themselves Christians. They hated Paul. They hurt Paul, and he feared what more they could do. It was up to him to marshal all the strength and the skills he had to prevent them from doing any further damage. They had backed him into a corner, and he responds with ferocity and emotion in 2 Corinthians, compelled out of his deep love for the Corinthians and his commitment to true, saving Christianity and humble, self-sacrificing leadership.

RELEVANCE

Christians treat 2 Corinthians like the ugly twin sister of 1 Corinthians. First Corinthian's poignant theology about challenging issues attracts everyone's constant attention. Meanwhile, 2 Corinthians sits in the corner waiting for someone to ask it to dance. Yet, once we make some effort to get to know 2 Corinthians, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Today, as in the days of the early church, various outside forces threaten to sever people's loyalty to Christ and cut away at the fabric of the church. It might be a cult like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. It might be cultural forces like the challenges of postmodernism or the mind-set of the so-called Generation X which questions absolutes like God and salvation in Christ alone. It might just be an obstinate person who envies the authority of the minister, elders, or deacons and questions their integrity and decision-making at every turn and who draws around him or her an anti-faction.

If you are someone who cares deeply about your local church and would do almost anything to maintain its success and its integrity as a body of Christian believers, then 2 Corinthians will speak to your heart and nourish your soul. You will relate to Paul's agony over this church , feel his compassion, and be engulfed by his intense emotion in this letter. You will take in the principles of genuine church leadership and apply them to your life responsibly to enable you to enrich the quality of your local church.

The comments which follow are intended to help you both to understand 2 Corinthians in its own historical context and to apply its key principles to your own personal context in the church today.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

1 Clem 1 Clement

1QH The Thanksgiving Hymns (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QM The War Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QS Rule of the Community (Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Clem 2 Clement

AJP American Journal of Philology

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römishen Welt, ed. Temporini and Haase

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT Bible Translator

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CD The Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scroll)

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Hawthorne, Martin, and Reid

Ebr. De Ebrietate (Philo)

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

Heres Qui Rerum Divinarum Heres sit (Philo)

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JRH Journal of Religious History

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

LB Living Bible

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

Neot Neotestamentica

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Brown

NIV New International Version

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSupp Novum Testamentum Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RB Revue Biblique

ResQ Restoration Quarterly

RSV Revised Standard Version

SCJ Stone-Campbell Journal

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

Spec.Leg. Philo, De Specialibus Legibus

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Kittel and Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

T.Jos Testament of Joseph

T.Levi Testament of Levi

T.Naph Testament of Naphtali

TS Theological Studies

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WW Word and World

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenshaft

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. OPENING - 1:1-2

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-11

A. GOD COMFORTS - 1:3-7

B. GOD DELIVERS - 1:8-11

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY - 1:12-2:13

A. CLARITY SOUGHT - 1:12-14

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED - 1:15-17

C. CANDOR DEMANDED - 1:18-22

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED - 1:23-2:4

E. THE OFFENDER FORGIVEN - 2:5-11

F. ACTUAL TRAVEL DESCRIBED - 2:12-13

IV. DEFENSE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IN PRINCIPLE - 2:14-7:4

A. SUFFICIENT FOR MINISTRY - 2:14-3:6

1. The Aroma of Christ Spread - 2:14-17

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent - 3:1-3

3. A Personal Reference Provided - 3:4-6

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT - 3:7-18

1. Glory Unsurpassed 3:7-11

2. Glory Unobstructed 3:12-18

C. TENACIOUS DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS - 4:1-5:10

1. Christ Preached Plainly - 4:1-6

2. Hardships Overcome because of Jesus' Death - 4:7-12

3. Increasing Multitudes Brought to Life - 4:13-15

4. Driven by Unseen, Eternal Reward - 4:16-18

5. Confident in Eternal Home - 5:1-10

a) Permanent Home Guaranteed - 5:1-5

b) Pleasing the Lord Prioritizes Life - 5:6-10

D. PREACHING RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST - 5:11-6:2

1. Motivated by Christ's Love - 5:11-15

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered - 5:16-6:2

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY - 6:3-10

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION - 6:11-7:4

1. Paul's Heart Opened - 6:11-13

2. Holiness Demanded - 6:14-7:1

3. Paul's Trust Expressed - 7:2-4

V. ENCOURAGING NEWS: RELATIONSHIP FULLY RESTORED - 7:5-16

A. TITUS REPORTS LOVE FOR PAUL - 7:5-7

B. TRUE REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES INNOCENCE - 7:8-13a

C. TITUS EXPRESSED DEEP AFFECTION - 7:13b-16

VI. PREPARATION FOR THE COLLECTION - 8:1-9:15

A. INCENTIVES TOWARD GENEROSITY - 8:1-15

1. Excel Like the Macedonians - 8:1-7

2. Give Like Christ - 8:8-9

3. Complete Your Offering - 8:10-12

4. Achieve Equity - 8:13-15

B. TITUS PLUS TWO OTHERS SENT TO CORINTH TO HELP - 8:16-9:5

1. Criticism to Be Thwarted - 8:16-21

2. Measure Up to Expectations - 8:22-24

3. Follow Through on What Was Begun - 9:1-5

C. MORE INCENTIVE TO BE GENEROUS - 9:6-15

1. God Will Be Generous - 9:6-11

2. God Will Be Praised - 9:12-15

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY - 10:1-13:10

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK - 10:1-18

1. Powerful Weapons Employed - 10:1-6

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned - 10:7-10

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted - 10:12-18

B. COMPARISON TO FALSE APOSTLES MADE - 11:1-15

1. True Message of Jesus Preached - 11:1-6

2. No Money Accepted - 11:7-12

3. The False Apostles Serve Satan - 11:13-15

C. BOASTING AS A "FOOL" - 11:16-33

1. Rationale Provided - 11:16-21a

2. Ancestry and Hardships Listed - 11:21b-29

3. Weakness Boasted - 11:30-33

D. MORE BOASTING - 12:1-10

1. A Vision Divulged - 12:1-6

2. An Irremovable Thorn Remains - 12:7-10

E. "BOASTING" RETROSPECTIVE - 12:11-13

F. PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD VISIT - 12:14-13:10

1. No Exploitation Tactics Employed - 12:14-18

2. More Trouble Feared - 12:19-21

3. Harsh Treatment for Sinners Warned - 13:1-4

4. Faith-testing Evidences Paul's Strength - 13:5-10

VIII. CLOSING REMARKS - 13:11-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV