BACKGROUND NOTES ON PAUL'S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

Author
     This letter was the apostle Paul's fourth to the church in Corinth, apparently written with secretarial help from Timothy (1:1), and was delivered to the church by Titus (8:17).
 
Why was it written?
     The letter we know as 1 Corinthians (Paul's second to this church — see the background notes on 1 Corinthians) was not well received. After delivering it, Timothy returned to Paul in Ephesus and reported that there was still a lot of trouble in the church, partly caused by the church's refusal to accept what Paul wrote to them, and largely by the arrival there of some false apostles: Jewish Christians who took great pride in their superior (to Paul) rhetorical skills, and probably also taught the Corinthians that they should live according to Mosaic law.
     Upon hearing this news Paul visited Corinth, but it did not turn out well - he refers to it as "painful" in ch 2:1, and made up his mind not to visit them again to prevent more hurt.
     When he returned to Ephesus Paul wrote a severe letter "with many tears", rebuking the Corinthians. This third letter, lost to us, was delivered by Titus, and apparently had the effect of bringing the majority of the Corinthians to godly sorrow and repentance.
     Shortly after this, Paul left Ephesus and travelled to Troas to preach and "found that the Lord had opened a door for me". But when Titus took a long time returning, Paul "had no peace of mind" and went on to Macedonia where he finally met Titus again. This time Titus had good news: most of the church had repented and returned to the gospel, once again accepting Paul's authority as a true apostle.
     Paul decided to write to the Corinthians again (his fourth letter to them, known to us as 2 Corinthians) - his most personal letter, expressing relief but also warning them not to fall back, while pleading with the unrepentant minority to return to the truth.
 
How and when was it written?
     Paul wrote the letter in about AD 56, after concluding his ministry in Ephesus and the traveling to Troas, and finally to Greece, where he stayed for three months (Acts 20:1,2). He finally met Titus again in Macedonia, bringing good news from Corinth, and wrote this letter to the Corinthians before starting his last trip to Jerusalem.
 
First audience and destination:
     Corinth was a very religious and very immoral large commercial city, and its culture had a lot of influence on the Christians there. Idolatry and immorality created major problems, and this was made worse by the prevalent Greek philosophy of the day: according to its teachings the body was evil, while only the soul was good, which necessitated some of Paul's teachings in both 1 and 2 Corinthians.
 
Literary style:
By first century standards this is quite a long epistle. It is written in Koine (common) Greek in Paul's typical style, and includes passionate outbursts and the use of irony.
 
Special themes:
· The new covenant in Christ, compared to the "fading glory" of the old Mosaic covenant.
· The intermediate state, between our death and the new heavens and earth.
· The message and ministry of reconciliation.
· Sacrificial giving to the poor, being a manifestation of a generous heart, not a legalistic obligation.
· Apostolic authority: Paul gives a passionate defence of his God-given apostolic authority, employing irony and some anger in contrasting that with the boasting of the false "super-apostles".
 
Special features
· This is a very personal letter, containing a lot of autobiographical material, and gives us great insight into Paul's heart and motivation as an apostle.
· 2 Corinthians 2:14-7:4 is often called "The Great Digression": Paul starts the letter discussing his apostolic travels, but then his sufferings takes him to an inspired "sidetrack" dealing with bodily weakness, resurrection life and the coming new body, and an explanation of the ministry of reconciliation. This section could be removed without upsetting Paul's narrative of his travels, but it features important doctrinal material not found in Paul's other letters — a digression with divine purpose!
· There is a distinct difference in tone and subject matter between chapters 1-9 and 10-13. The latter section was probably addressed to an unrepentant minority in the church, which accounts for the harsher and more confrontational tone — probably part of Paul's motivation for this part was also to prevent the majority from becoming complacent and losing their way again.
 
General structure:
Greeting and thanksgiving — Chapter 1:1-11
Paul defends his integrity — Chapters 1:12-2:11
Paul's apostolic ministry — Chapters 2:12-6:10
Paul appeals for large-heartedness and consistency — Chapters 6:11-7:3
Paul's joy over the report of Titus regarding the Church's repentance — Chapter 7:4-16
Regarding the collection for poor believers in Judaea — Chapters 8:1-9:16
Paul's apostolic authority —Chapters 10:1-13:10
Conclusion — Chapter 13:11-14
 
 

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