2 Corinthians

There will always be those in the Church who question our motives. Even so Paul cared about other believers opinion of him and his ministry. eager to set things right and to promote unity in the Body of Christ he defended himself by writing this letter to the Church he founded in Corinth. In his defense Paul reaffirms the essential doctrines of the faith. He warns that Satan will use any means to divide believers and use that to discredit them to unbelievers. Through it all we, like Paul, can find direction and comfort through Christ.

Letter from Paul, Apostle of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians is the pieced together history behind the 2nd letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

Paul founded the Corinthian church. After 18 months he departed from Corinth and wrote a letter which is now lost. Paul then talked to some members of Chloe’s household about quarrels in the Corinthian church. Perhaps at this point, Paul sent Timothy on a trip that included Corinth. Then a committee arrived from Corinth with questions for Paul. Then Paul wrote the book now called 1 Corinthians to correct disorders and answer questions from the Corinthian church. Paul probably sent Titus to Corinth with 1 Corinthians. After sending him, Paul became deeply concerned about how the Corinthians would respond to what he had written. He had called them carnal and proud. In the meantime, serious difficulties arose at Ephesus, so he left ahead of schedule. He stopped at Troas to preach the gospel. But because he did not find Titus there and was still eager to hear about the Corinthians, he hastened to Macedonia. There Paul found Titus. According to an early tradition, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Philippi.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul had instructed the believers in Corinth to discipline an incestuous member, and to take a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Titus gave Paul a report that was on the whole encouraging. The Corinthians had responded properly to 1 Corinthians. They had faithfully carried out the discipline necessary. But Titus also informed Paul about the presence of “false apostles” who accused Paul of walking according to the flesh, being deceitful, intimidating the church with his letters, unjustly mistreating someone to the point of ruining that person, and defrauding people. These false teachers probably pointed out that Paul had not returned as he promised, and used this as evidence for his duplicity. They even attempted to discredit Paul by charging that he was raising money to enrich himself. Inevitably these accusations raised doubts in the minds of the Corinthians about the integrity of the apostle Paul.

Paul wrote 2 Corinthians out of his concern for the Corinthian church. He wanted to offer the church some further instructions concerning the repentant offender as well as about the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem. However, Paul’s main purpose for writing 2 Corinthians was to defend his ministry. Paul’s opponents in Corinth had severely attacked him. He wrote this letter to prove that his ministry was sincere and genuine, and to reassert his authority as an apostle of Christ.

Second Corinthians is primarily a personal letter, defending Paul’s ministry among the Corinthians and appealing to the factions in the church to reconcile themselves to each other. Yet Paul still uses doctrine to address this church’s problems. He speaks of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith: the Trinity, as well as the deity, humanity, death and resurrection of Christ. Paul reaffirms that all believers have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and have been given the Spirit as a deposit. The believing Corinthians are in Christ and Christ is in them. They will be resurrected and evaluated at the judgment seat of Christ, where they will either be ashamed or rewarded. Paul points out that part of the reason for the Corinthians’ difficulties and divisions was Satan’s opposition to the church. He blinds unbelievers to truth and uses every opportunity to divide the believers. That is why Paul exhorts the Corinthians to lead holy lives, to repent of the sins of the past, and to be reconciled to each other. Thus in this personal letter defending his ministry and authority, Paul still weaves doctrine into the fabric of his discussion. For Paul, the essence of Christian faith touched on every facet of life, not only divisions and controversies like those that disturbed the Corinthian church.

Because Paul indicates that he experienced the comfort of the risen Christ in the midst of his hardships, he reveals Jesus as the source of the believer’s comfort: “For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ”. Given Paul’s personal tragedies, Jesus the Comforter is a major emphasis in this letter. But, look further and you will find much more. Jesus is celebrated as our triumph, our light, our reconciliation, our substitute, our gift, and our strength. NKJ Bible.