2 Corinthians Commentary

Second Corinthians shows Paul as a pastor. He passionately desires to win the Christians in Corinth back to himself, convinced that the Good News is above all a message of reconciliation. Paul faced criticism and accusations from fellow Christians who doubted him as a leader. Forced to defend himself, he opens his heart to this congregation to a degree not found in his other letters. Paul faced many dangers, including threats to his life, but being falsely accused by Christians he had won for Christ was one of his worst trials. Paul’s example, demonstrating how Christ loves his church, is a great source of encouragement and hope to Christian leaders and to their congregations.

Setting

The apostle Paul first came to Corinth in the course of his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1-20). The city was ancient even in Paul’s day. It had developed into a strong, well-populated economic and urban center from the 500s BC. Under Roman occupation and influence since Julius Caesar reestablished it in 44 BC, it became a city of fine buildings, shops, theaters, and houses. Its trade brought much wealth, and the city prospered. Artisans crafted bronze artifacts, pottery, and especially the terra cotta lamps that were well-known throughout the ancient world (see 2 Cor 4:7). Agriculture was also key to Corinth’s prosperity (see 9:6-10; 1 Cor 3:6-9; 9:7, 10). Beginning in 27 BC, Achaia (southern Greece) came under the control of the Roman senate because of Corinth’s economic importance and geographical advantage.

The religious life of Corinth is well attested in contemporary writings. The Greek goddess Aphrodite (whom the Romans called Venus)—the goddess of life, beauty, and passion—was a popular deity. Strabo speaks of her vast temple on a hill above the city as a center of prostitution, and the moral climate of Corinth was infamously degraded. Scholars are now cautious about this opinion, since the political rivalry between Corinth and nearby Athens might have motivated Strabo’s denigrating remarks about Corinth. However, we know that Paul wrote Rom 1:18-32 while he was at Corinth (see Romans Book Introduction, “Date, Place, and Occasion of Writing”; cp. Acts 20:2-3), and 2 Corinthians undeniably reflects his awareness of serious moral problems there (see 2 Cor 6:14-17; 12:19-21).

Into this city Paul brought the message of Christ. By God’s grace and the ministry of his servant, a company of believers was established, and the nascent church grew. Paul’s converts, whom he regarded as his children (6:13; 12:14; 1 Cor 4:15), were a mixed lot, a cross-section of cosmopolitan society in this city that was famous for its pretensions to wisdom and rhetoric, its popular culture, its trade, its two harbors, and its love of life. At the climax of his list of trials in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, Paul writes: “Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.” No congregation seemed to bring Paul more concern than the church at Corinth.

Summary

This letter arises out of challenges to Paul’s apostolic authority and the infiltration of false teachers. So, in the first half of 2 Corinthians (chs 1–6), Paul outlines his understanding of Christian service. Suffering for Christ’s sake is a necessary part of service (1:1-24), though it is hard to endure when we are offended by fellow Christians (2:1-17). The message of Good News gives life in the Spirit and God’s salvation, replacing the religion of the old covenant, though it has continuity with it (3:1-18). The power of the message shows through the weakness of God’s servants (4:1-18) and centers in the death of God’s Son, by which we are restored to God’s favor (5:1-21). Christian living is marked by devotion and dedication that distinguish believers from the evils of the world (6:1-18).

In the second half of the letter (chs 7–13), Paul explains how he came to write his letters to Corinth (7:1-16), reveals principles of giving and stewardship in discussing the collection for the Jerusalem church (8:1–9:15), and makes a spirited defense of his apostolic work against those who denigrated his status because of his weaknesses (chs 10–13).

Author

No one has seriously challenged Paul’s authorship of 2 Corinthians. The sole exception is that 6:14–7:1 is sometimes regarded as a non-Pauline insertion, perhaps from a sect, since it is similar in terminology to the Dead Sea Scrolls. More likely it is simply a digression, or perhaps it has been taken from another of Paul’s letters to Corinth and inserted here. Either way, the material in it was most likely written by Paul himself to deal with the moral and spiritual situation in the church at Corinth.

Date and Occasion of Writing

During his two- to three-year stay in Ephesus (AD 53~56), Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and sent it to the church in Corinth by the hand of Timothy (see 1 Cor 16:10-11; 1 Corinthians Book Introduction, “Date and Occasion of Writing”). Apparently 1 Corinthians was not well-received, and some of the Corinthians were now questioning Paul’s apostolic authority. This crisis was anticipated in 1 Cor 4:18-21, but the challenge became more vocal and aggressive. So Paul made a personal visit from Ephesus (2 Cor 2:1). This visit apparently failed to achieve its purpose, as Paul’s opponents apparently withstood him. Humiliated before the church and insulted by a prominent member, Paul returned to Ephesus in great distress. He then wrote a “severe letter” and sent it with Titus to Corinth (2:3-13). This severe letter, which has been lost, was successful in finally bringing the Corinthians to repentance (7:8-10).

Meanwhile, Paul left Ephesus after severe trials (Acts 19:23-41; cp. 1:8-11; 4:8-15; 6:4-10) and traveled to Macedonia (Acts 20:1). In Macedonia Paul found Titus, who had arrived from Corinth, and Titus gave Paul a very encouraging report about the situation there (2 Cor 7:5-7). In response to that report, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians (around AD 56) and sent it back to Corinth with Titus (8:6, 16-19). Paul then traveled on to Corinth himself, where he spent three months (see Acts 20:1-3).

The Unity of 2 Corinthians as a Letter

Although there is no question that Paul himself wrote 2 Corinthians, there are questions about whether it was all written and sent as one letter.

2 Cor 6:14–7:1. In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul mentions a letter that he had previously sent to Corinth dealing with the issue of associating with immoral people. Although this letter has been lost, some scholars believe that at least part of it is preserved as 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1, which addresses the same subject. If 6:14–7:1 is a fragment of that previous letter, it might explain why this section seems to be inserted in the discussion, which would otherwise flow naturally from 6:13 directly to 7:2. On the other hand, Paul often digressed while writing his letters, so it is also possible that 6:14–7:1 is simply a digression.

2 Cor 10:1–13:14. The last four chapters of 2 Corinthians are a puzzle. The tone of these chapters is indignant and ironic. Some see them as part of Paul’s “severe letter” (see 7:8); but that is not likely, since the Corinthians responded to his severe letter with repentance (7:9). It makes more sense to regard chapters 10–13 as being written later than chapters 1–9 in response to a new situation that arose following the coming of false teachers to Corinth (cp. 11:4, 12-15). The Corinthians had warmly received these teachers, who quickly reopened old wounds and insinuated that Paul was not a true apostle nor even a Christian at all (see 10:7, 10; 11:5; 12:11). When Paul sensed the danger, he wrote a blistering note full of irony, invective, ridicule, and self-defense. At the heart of chapters 10–13 is Paul’s “Fool’s Speech” (11:16–12:10), in which he resorts to boasting because the need compels him (11:1, 16-17).

We cannot tell whether the words preserved in chapters 10–13 succeeded in warding off these threats and defending once more Paul’s apostolic standing in Corinth. Paul followed up this letter with a visit (Acts 20:2) as he came to Greece, presumably Corinth. He eventually sailed to Jerusalem with the money donated by the churches, including Corinth. So it is possible that Paul’s last letter was the most effective of all, and the Corinthians were finally won over. Forty years after the Corinthian correspondence, a letter known as 1 Clement, written by a leader at Rome to the Corinthians, speaks warmly of Paul’s ministry.

Meaning and Message

Second Corinthians is a very human document that opens a window onto the inner life of the apostle Paul. For that reason, it has been called Paul’s most personal letter.

The Minister’s Job Description. The first half of the letter (1:1–7:16) explains and describes the responsibilities and privileges of a leader. The message of Good News is new (3:1-18) and must be validated by the lifestyle of those who proclaim it. And the Good News brings reconciliation (5:1-21).

The Heart of the Good News. Chapter 5 contains one of the fullest accounts of Paul’s central message (5:18-21). Paul had already told the Corinthians that he came preaching Christ crucified (1 Cor 1:18–2:2). Now he explains how this message is to be applied in light of the current situation: People are out of harmony with God because of sin, so God has acted in response to human need. God in Christ has dealt with the problem of sin and alienation by becoming human and taking our sin upon himself at the cross. Through Christ, we are restored to a relationship of peace and acceptance with God. We are urged to be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:20) and to maintain our reconciliation with God. This relationship needs to be maintained throughout our lives, which implies loyalty to the Good News as Paul proclaimed it and separation from moral evils such as those that plagued the city of Corinth.

The Call to Holy Living. Running through this letter is a summons to holy life. The two governing images are of the church as a temple (6:14–7:1) and as a bride (11:2). Both images speak of purity and dedication. The Temple is the holy place where God is worshiped, so his people should be consecrated to this task. The bride of Christ should be faithful to her husband.

The Need for Generous Giving. Two lengthy chapters (8:1–9:15) are devoted to this single theme. Those who are at strife in Corinth need to consider the needs of others, especially the poverty-stricken Jewish believers in Jerusalem. The incarnate Lord Jesus Christ is our supreme model for sacrificial giving (8:9).

What was at stake at Corinth was the essence of the Good News as expressed in the way of the cross. Paul’s experience of suffering and weakness as an apostle was, to the believers in Corinth, a seeming contradiction to his authority. In fact, however, the essence of the Good News is for people to accept another person’s (Christ’s) suffering on their behalf. This is still relevant to leadership and daily living among Christians today.

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 (Co1 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, Co2 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.

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 (Co1 4:19; Co2 1:15-16; compare Co1 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (Co2 1:12, Co2 1:24; Co2 6:3-13; Co2 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 (Co2 2:1-11; Co2 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (Co2 8:1-9, Co2 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 (Co2 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 (Co2 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 (Co2 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 (Co2 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 (Co2 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 Co2 7:6, compared with Co2 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in Co2 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (Co2 7:5). ALFORD argues from Co2 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 (Co2 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 (Co2 4:7; Co2 5:1-4; Co2 12:7-9; compare Note, see on Co2 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 (Co1 15:12, Co1 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (Co2 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 (Co2 10:8-16; Co2 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 Co2 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," Co2 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (Co2 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 (Co2 11:13, Co2 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (Co1 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (Co2 11:6; Co2 10:10, Co2 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 (Co1 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (Co2 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 (Co2 8:18-19, Co2 8:22).

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