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2 Corinthians
Introduction
On the return of Titus from Corinth after his delivery of 1 Corinthians, Paul's fear, as to the state of the Corinthian church, had been greatly allayed. The majority of the Corinthians had again recognised Paul and had dealt with the overt sins of the group. Paul's previous letter had hurt them, but they were now applying its teachings. In response to this news Paul writes 2 Corinthians. Three aims may be discerned:
i] Thanksgiving. To express his joy for the Corinthians. "I am in good spirits about you at every point."
ii] Exhortation. To encourage them on a number of points.
Beware of false apostles.
Deal with immoral practices.
Raise finances for the believers in Palestine.
iii] Prepare for his visit. To prepare the church for his coming visit.
Paul restates his apostolic role (primarily mission) and defends himself against recent criticism (fickle, ugly). As apostle to the church he will soon come and deal with those who are affecting the Christian fellowship and therefore the church should examine itself prior to his visit.
1. Greeting and thanksgiving, 1:1-11
Paul thanks God for getting him through the troubles of the recent past and asks the Corinthians to pray for his team.
2. Paul defends his integrity, 1:12-2:11
Paul's delay at coming is not a fickle decision, rather, he did not wish to cause pain. The immoral member is the one who caused the pain and he has been dealt with, therefore forgive him.
i] Paul maintains his integrity, 1:12-17
ii] Paul defends himself theologically, 1:18-22
iii] About the previous letter, 1:23-2:4
iv] The limits to discipline, 2:5-11
v] Paul's visit to Troas, 2:12-13
3. Paul thanks God for his share in Christ's triumphs, 2:14-17
This thanksgiving leads into Paul's defence of his ministry, 3;1-6:3 (7:4, Barnett).
4. Paul defends the character of his ministry, 3:1-6:13
i] A servant of the new covenant, 3:1-6
ii] The glory of the new covenant, 3:7-18
iii] The treasure of gospel ministry, 4:1-6
iv] Jesus seen in us, 4:7-12
v] Eternal in dimension, 4:13-5:5
vi] An earthenware container, 5:6-10
vii] Ruled by Christ's love, 5:11-15
viii] A work of reconciliation, 5:16-21
ix] An appeal for reconciliation, 6:1-13
5. Exhortation, 6:14-7:1
"Do not harness yourselves to an uneven team with unbelievers"
6. Paul's meeting with Titus, 7:2-16
Paul is overjoyed by the tidings brought by Titus, 7:2-16.
7. The collection for the believers in Palestine, 8:1-9:15
The Corinthians obviously wish to help, but have not acted as yet - Paul identifies the generosity of the Christians in Macedonia and the poverty of Jesus.
i] The grace of giving, 8:1-7
ii] The generosity of Christ, 8:8-15
iii] The impending visit of Titus, 8:16-24
iv] Fulfilling promises, 9:1-5
v] Giving generously, 9:6-15
8. Paul defends his ministry, 10:1-12:18
Paul defends himself against those who question his credentials, denounces his opponents and answers misrepresentations.
i] Paul's vindication, 10:1-11
ii] Paul's appointed sphere of service, 10:12-18
iii] The emissaries identified and opposed, 11:1-15
iv] Paul's credentials and his experiences, 11:16-33
v] Paul's vision and revelation, 12:1-6
vi] The thorn in the flesh, 12:7-10
vii] Paul justifies his apostolate, 12:11-18
9. Paul proposes a visit to Corinth with some misgivings, 12:19-13:10
Just the last word
i] Expressions of concern, 12:19-21
ii] Warning and admonition, 13:1-10
10. Conclusion, 13:11-14
The grace of God, 13:11-14
Paul had visited Corinth in AD.52 on his second missionary journey. The city was an important trading centre in Achaia (Greece). He was the first to preach the gospel in the town and a small church formed around the new converts, cf. Acts 18.
During his two-year stay at Ephesus, on his third missionary journey, Paul made a quick trip to Corinth between 54-55AD. He was disturbed at the behaviour of the new Christians, fornication etc. and so he warned them of possible disciplinary action. Corinth was renowned for its immoral behaviour and so the new Christians must have found it difficult to adapt to Biblical morality. This visit not recorded in Acts. cf. 2Cor.13:2.
After the visit he wrote a stern letter (1 Cor.5:9f) denouncing the fornicators etc. (now lost??). There was obviously strong resentment in the church because of Paul's words, cf. 1 Cor.1.
In 56AD. Stephanus, Furtunatus etc. visited Paul in Ephesus and reported the continued trouble, and also delivered a letter from the church asking certain questions. In response to the situation he sent Timothy, his right-hand man, to visit the church. He then wrote another letter (1 Corinthians) and sent it off, probably with Titus.
Within weeks of sending Titus, Timothy returned with a bad report as to the conditions in Corinth, so much so that Paul was not sure if he should have written his letter to them.
Troubles develop in Ephesus (Acts 19) and so Paul left for Macedonia where Titus met him with good news:
i] Paul's apostolic position in the church was recognised (2Cor.7:7);
ii] Appropriate action had been taken against the offender, 1Cor.5 (2Cor.7:12);
iii] The actual criticisms against Paul were clarified. a) Inconsistency - he said he would visit them but he didn't. He wanted things to cool down. b) Lowly impression;
iv] Some anti-Pauline feeling, although not strong;
v] Some unconfessed immorality which needed exhortation;
vi] The collection of money for the Jewish Christians in Palestine was moving ahead slowly.
Paul then penned his third letter to the church (2 Corinthians). On visiting the churches in Macedonia he spent three months in Greece, during which time he probably visited Corinth for the last time. Upon his return to Palestine he was arrested and sent for trial to Rome.
The above reconstruction is but one of a number of possibilities. The following is another widely held scenario:
i] Letters
"The Previous Letter" 1 Cor.16:8
1 Corinthians
"The Painful Letter" 2 Cor.7:8, 2:4, written after the painful visit to Corinth.
2 Corinthians written after meeting Titus in Macedonia.
ii] Visits
Second missionary journey
Painful visit made after the report by Timothy of continued trouble in Corinth. Note, this visit follows the writing of 1 Corinthians (2nd letter).
Visit after writing 2 Corinthians.
In this alternate reconstruction we have Paul's second visit before writing 1 Corinthians rather than before writing the 1st letter (The previous letter), and we have an extra letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians because it is argued 1 Corinthians doesn't fit the description of 2 Cor.2:4, 7:8.
Barnett, NICNT. Barrett, Black's. Best, Interpretation. Carson, Baker (ch. 10-13). Filson, Interpreter's Bible 10, 1953. Furnish, Anchor. Hanson, Torch. Harris, NIGTC. Hughes, NICNT, replaced. Keener, NCBC, 2005. Kruse, Tyndale, 2nd. ed. 1994. Martin, Word. Naylor, EPSC, 2 volumes, 2002. Pfitzner, ChiRho. Plummer, ICC, 1915. Strachan, MNTC, 1935. Tasker, Tyndale, 1958, replaced. Thrall, ICC.
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