Introduction to Second Corinthians

Authorship: Paul

• Co-Sender: Timothy

Date: AD 55-56

• About a year after 1 Corinthians.

Addressees

Same as 1 Corinthians, although circumstances have changed.

Corinthian Correspondence continued

1. Paul’s painful letter urging them to exercise church discipline against a vocal critic of Paul, testing their obedience to his apostolic authority.
   1. 2 Cor 2:1-10: “For I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. 2 For if I cause you pain, who is there to make me glad but the one whom I have pained? 3 And I wrote as I did, so that when I came I might not suffer pain from those who should have made me rejoice, for I felt sure of all of you, that my joy would be the joy of you all. 4 For I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to cause you pain but to let you know the abundant love that I have for you. 5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive.”
   2. 2 Cor 7:8: “For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though I did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while.”
   3. Could this painful letter be 1 Corinthians? Not impossible, but 1 Cor 5 is only passage where Paul calls for church discipline – and that seems to be a different case.
2. Second Corinthians seems to have been written in two main stages, different emotional tone:
   1. Chs. 1-9: Written after receiving good news from Titus

      7:6, 13: “But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus … Therefore we are comforted. And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all.”

   2. Chs. 10-13: Written after receiving bad news about the infiltration of the “false apostles” (2 Cor 11:13), Jewish Christian opponents of Paul.

Purposes of 2 Corinthians

1. To defend his legitimacy as an apostle against his opponents, who charged …
   1. that he wasn’t a true apostle and had doubtful credentials (3:1; 6:8; 12:12)
   2. that Christ wasn’t really speaking through Paul (13:3)
   3. that he was fickle, impulsive, and fleshly (1:17; 10:2)
   4. that his letters were weighty but his bodily presence was weak (10:10)
   5. that he wasn’t a sophisticated speaker with rhetorical skills (11:6)
2. To win back the affection, loyalty, and obedience of the Corinthians (2:4, 9; 6:11-13; 7:2; 10:6; 12:14). Paul betrothed the Corinthians to Christ, their husband, and so he feels “a divine jealousy” (lit. “the jealousy of God”) when false teachers come in and win their affections (11:1-3).
3. To put himself forward as an example of what it means to be “a man in Christ” (4:10-12; 5:17; 12:2; 13:5) in contrast with the false apostles who boast in outward appearances (5:12). It may seem that Paul is merely defending himself; but he is actually doing something deeper – he is seeking the Corinthians’ spiritual growth, that they might follow his Christ-centered, cruciform way of life (12:19).
4. To exhort the Corinthians to make good on their promise to contribute to the collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem (chs. 8–9; cp. Rom 15:26).
5. Paul continually shifts back and forth between (1) defending his ministry and reclaiming the affections of the Corinthians and (2) proclaiming the truths of the gospel. The letter is like a well-marbled steak.

Outline of 2 Corinthians

1. 1:1-11: Letter Opening
2. 1:12–13:10: Letter Body
   1. 1:12–2:13: Paul’s Change of Plans
   2. 2:14–5:21: Paul’s Apostolic Ministry: Its Character and Content
      1. 2:14-17: The Aroma of Christ
      2. 3:1-18: The Glory of the New Covenant
      3. 4:1-6: The Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ
      4. 4:7-18: Treasure in Jars of Clay
      5. 5:1-10: The Resurrection Body
      6. 5:11-21: The Ministry of Reconciliation
   3. 6:1–7:16: Paul’s Appeal to the Corinthians
   4. 8:1–9:15: The Collection for the Jewish Christians
   5. 10:1–13:10: Paul Defends his Ministry against the False Apostles
3. 13:11-14: Letter Closing

Key Contributions of 2 Corinthians

1. The Old Covenant vs. the New Covenant (ch. 3)
   1. Written on Stone vs. on Heart
   2. Letter vs. Spirit
   3. Ministry of Death vs. Ministry of Life
   4. Ministry of Condemnation vs. Ministry of Righteousness
   5. Fading Glory vs. Permanent Glory
   6. Veiled vs. Unveiled
   7. Bondage vs. Freedom
2. Paul’s view of Christian ministry
   1. “We have this treasure [the gospel of Christ] in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (4:7 NIV).
   2. The message is to the ministry as the treasure is to the jar of clay. The jar of clay is nothing and the treasure inside is all that matters. The jar has no independent value apart from the treasure it contains. The jar cannot boast or get any credit.
   3. The two must be in harmony. The medium must fit the message. If the message is the gospel of grace in which we are nothing and God gets all the glory, then our ministry methods must not exalt man but God. Our sufficiency – both in salvation and in ministry – is not from ourselves, but from God (1:8-9; 3:5; 4:7; 12:9).
   4. It is vital to Paul that Christ get all the glory; we are only vehicles and instruments (3:5; 4:7). Boasting in ourselves is a fundamental error that contradicts the gospel itself (10:7-18; cp. 1 Cor 1:29-31). “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
   5. Paul viewed his authority as an apostle as something God gave him, not for his own glory, but for building up the church (1:24; 10:8; 12:19; 13:10).
3. Paul’s theology of suffering and critique of triumphalism
   1. “This light momentary affliction” (4:16-18)
   2. Paul’s catalogue of sufferings (11:16-33)
   3. “My power made perfect in weakness” (12:1-10)
   4. Paul’s ministry (suffering and serving) is the embodiment of Paul’s message (Christ and him crucified). “We are the aroma of Christ” (2:15).
4. Evangelistic method:
   1. The aroma of Christ—fragrance of death or of life (2:15-16)
   2. Not peddlers of the word, but men of sincerity (2:17)
   3. No underhanded methods, no tampering with God’s word (4:2)
   4. “The open statement of the truth” (4:2)
5. The doctrine of the physical body: “the tent that is our earthly home” (present mortal body) versus “a house not made with hands … further clothed” (future glorified body) (5:1-5).
6. A new creation: the eschatological nature of salvation (5:17; cp. Isa 65:17; Gal 6:15).
7. The doctrine of double imputation: our sins imputed to Christ; his righteousness imputed to us (5:21).
8. Christology: The preexistence (“he was rich”) and incarnation (“he became poor”) of Christ (8:9).
9. God loves a cheerful giver (9:7).