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2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1

By Pastor Doug
Greeting; comfort and deliverance from suffering.

When Paul first went to Corinth on his second missionary journey, he stayed for 1-1/2 years.  Right after he left, he heard of immorality in the church and he wrote them a letter to confront that sin.  This letter was lost and we really don't know what it said.  Paul was then in Ephesus on his 3rd missionary journey when someone wrote to Paul detailing some problems in the church of Corinth.  Others asked questions about how to deal with some issues, indicating some false teaching was present.  Paul responded in letter.  This letter is what we call 1st Corinthians.  It was written about 55 A.D. 

Some believe there was a visit to Corinth right after 1st Corinthians.

Paul wrote another letter sometime later, from Ephesus; this one was called the severe letter.  Titus delivered this letter to Corinth.  We don't really know what it said because it was lost.  Right after Titus delivered that letter, Paul left Ephesus because of the riot sparked by Demetrius.  Paul continued his 3rd missionary journey traveling to Troas but he was so anxious to find out how this severe letter was received that he couldn't minister there.  He searched for Titus and finally caught up with him while ministering in Philippi and Thessalonica.  Titus gave him the good news that those in Corinth who had rebelled against him had repented.  That was great news for Paul even though there were still issues.  Upon receiving this news, Paul sat down and wrote this letter, known as 2nd Corinthians and sent it ahead with Titus, expecting to be on his way there right after. 

There were 'false apostles' in Corinth and in order to sway people to their doctrine they were attacking Paul's character and his apostleship.  Paul went to Corinth to set things straight.  This visit didn't go too well.  As Paul tried to help and correct the church he founded, he saw that some were confrontational and looking for a fight.  At least one of these 'false apostles' openly insulted Paul in front of the congregations.  There was a battle for control of the church. 

Paul's dealings with Corinth:

  • Paul planted church around a.d.52–53.  He spent 1½ years in Corinth making disciples (Acts 18:10–11).
  • Some believe Paul wrote a lost letter to correct issues of immorality; at the very least, he received a letter from Corinth informing him of what was going on.
  • Paul responded to this is 1 Corinthians
  • Some believe that upon hearing of ongoing issues of immorality and disrespect toward him, Paul went to Corinth to straighten them out.  This is referred to as the Painful visit.
  • Some believe that later, a rejected and heartbroken Paul wrote a "severe letter"; We don't have this letter.
  • Titus brought news of repentance on the heals of the 'severe letter'; Paul wrote 2nd Corinthians
  • Paul went to Corinth (Acts 20:2-3).  While there, he wrote the book of Romans.

The setting and the tone of this letter is the great sense of relief at the church having come to its senses about these 'false apostles' teaching. 

*****

It was a day in October, like so many other normal fall days.  This day was far from normal though.   The heart of the nation was captivated by the reports coming from Midland Texas.  Rescuers were trying to reach eighteen-month-old Jessica McClure.  She had fallen in a well shaft in her aunt's back yard where she was playing.  There was supposed to have been a rock or a heavy flower pot over the 8" opening; but one report said she playfully dangled her feet into the hole as her aunt had looked away for just a minute.  As Jessica went to get up, she fell into the darkness.  With one leg up and the other down, she was wedged in this well shaft, above the water but still twenty-two feet below the ground.

Rescuers drilled a twenty-nine-foot vertical shaft parallel to the well and then bored a five-foot-long horizontal tunnel through solid rock to get under her and pull her free.  It took longer thann they had anticipated—fifty-eight hours. People were losing hope and medical personnel were getting concerned about dehydration and shock.  As Jessica sang "Winnie the Pooh" and other songs; sometimes alternating between crying and singing – she remained courageous. 

When rescuers finally reached Jessica, they couldn't pull her out. The way her body was wedged in the shaft kept them from freeing her.  The paramedics check Jessica and gave the awful orders: "Pull hard! She doesn't have more time. You may have to break her to save her." 

When the rescuers pulled the last time, Jessica came free without additional injury.  Jessica suffered a broken leg, lost one toe and has a scar on her forehead. 

"You might have to break her to save her."

This had been Paul's heart toward Corinth.  Because of his deep love and concern for the church, he was willing to cause some short-term suffering and pain that it might be saved.  For the church of Corinth, he knew he might have to break her to save her.

 

2 Corinthians 1:1-2

This seems like a simple opening to the letter but Paul's intro is important.  Since much of the trouble that was going on at the church in Corinth centered on these false apostles, Paul reminds them that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ.  It's not something he asked for or pursued.  In fact, he had nothing to do with his calling to be an apostle, he became an apostle by the will of God.

Paul mentions Timothy because he was with him when he wrote this letter.  Paul considered him to be his spiritual son.  The Corinthians could learn from Timothy.    Paul addressed the church but also 'all the saints in Achaia.'  The letter was supposed to be passed around and read to all the saints in the region.

It's noteworthy also that Paul still considers the people of Corinth and all the other believers in the area to be saints.  Paul considered them to be saints back in the beginning of 1st Corinthians and then detailed all the worldly stuff going on there.  Now after the severe letter that Titus delivered and the painful visit, Paul still considers them brothers and sisters in Christ. 

We tend to think of saints as perfect people living perfect lives.  In reality, saints are those people who have entered into a relationship with the Lord; people like you and I.  We don't always get it right and neither did they. 

In verse 3, we see the 'Grace & Peace' greeting that Paul always uses.  All 13 of Paul's New Testament letters begin with the grace and peace greeting.

 

2 Corinthians 1:3-7
It was customary in writing a letter in those days to pay respect to a God.  Paul follows suit; not missing an opportunity to speak about His Lord.  He offers a benediction that is very much like a common form of Jewish prayer.  Paul calls God the Father blessed, meaning praiseworthy; because He is:

  • The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  • The Father of mercies
    • The word mercies should be seen as 'compassion'. 
    • Paul borrowed this phrase 'Father of mercies' from the Jewish synagogue prayers.  The prayer called for the father of mercies to show kindness, love and tenderness to the sinner.
  • The God of all comfort. 
    • The 'God of all comfort' is an Old Testament description of God.  He is recognized as the ultimate source of anything that brings comfort. 

The word for comfort here is 'paraklesis' and 'parakaleo.'  These words mean to comfort and strengthen.  They are closely related to 'paraklete' which is the word used for the Holy Spirit.  He is the One who 'comes along side' to comfort and strengthen. 

The picture here is God the Father who comes along side us and comforts us and shows love, tenderness and kindness to the sinner.  God strengthens and comforts us in our tribulation.  That's quite a statement coming from a man who lived his entire life on the edge.  It seems like Paul was constantly one step ahead of someone who wanted to beat, torture or kill him.  In all that happened to Paul and was continuing to happen, he finds comfort in God who is with us so that we are then able to comfort others who are troubled. 

This is a perfect example of the agape love Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians.  We didn't just receive comfort and peace in tribulation.  We received it so we could then offer a similar comfort and peace to others.  Through our act of kindness or love, others might see God's love.  We aren't to take the comfort and peace of a life lived in Christ and just steep in it.  We're supposed to pass that comfort and peace on to others.  This isn't supposed to be some passive idea of having compassion for others that are hurting.  It is supposed to be active; because we were comforted in our affliction, we are now qualified, equipped and prepared to go do likewise for others. 

It is in 'all' tribulation and 'any' trouble that we might expect to see the comfort of God at work.  As Christ suffered, we also should expect to suffer.  Consider Romans 8:28; consider this as a momentary and light affliction (2 Cor 4:17).  The sufferings will abound; meaning they are continued, various and countless, coming in many forms and from many places.  But in response to the suffering, we can expect comfort to also abound.  As the sufferings are many and varied, coming from different directions, so will come the comfort from various places, people and in many ways.  One way is that it is manifest in the saints in both giving and receiving this comfort.  Tribulation and trouble can seem so bad, so heavy, overwhelming and hopeless to us; yet God uses it as the very foundation to build a fortress of compassion and care.  That fortress is built with the hearts of the saints.

There are ten Greek words for suffering used in the New Testament.  Paul uses five of them in this letter.  The word translated to affliction is one Paul uses frequently.  This word is much more specific than some of the available choices; it speaks of crushing pressure, narrowing, restricting or confined.  Have you ever been in one of those stressful situations where you just feel as if you were being physically crushed by the weight of a problem?  Your thoughts are consumed, your strength is sapped, and your entire being is under pressure.  Sometimes it feels like it is choking the life out of you.  That's this word.

Paul didn't just experience this once in a while.  This was a normal state of being for him.  He was hemmed in on all sides by all kinds of things.  He knew what it was like to live in this affliction.

If we are going to identify with Christ then the sufferings of Christ will abound in us.  That's what Paul's life was.  To one extent or another, that's what every Christian life is.  He is a God of comfort, absolutely.  But if all we had to do for comfort was call on Him, then no one would come to Him out of love, but only for comfort.  We must find comfort & consolation in our suffering.

It was suffering that Paul saw as Christ abounding in us.  If Jesus suffered then why wouldn't we expect to suffer?  John 16:33 says, "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."  In our tribulation we can find the comfort that also abounds through Jesus.

Paul said if he was afflicted it was so they could find comfort when they were afflicted.  They could look at Paul and say, 'Well, I don't really have it any worse than Paul.  It's happening to him also.'  They could be consoled and it was for their salvation.  The word 'salvation' here means to their 'perseverance to the end'.  Seeing there were others being afflicted brought consolation and strength to endure in that affliction.

Likewise, if Paul had a comfort in his life, it had purpose.  If there was a season or a brief time of ease, then they could look at Paul and again find consolation and salvation.  They could see the suffering doesn't go on forever.  And they could be strengthened to persevere to the end.

Paul had suffered through this difficult time with the church of Corinth and they had suffered also.  But there was nothing to be gained by holding a grudge or worrying about who was to blame.  There was purpose in the suffering.  It turned out to be a time of growth for the church.

Christ suffered the ultimate so we wouldn't have to.  When we suffer, we can look to Christ and see our suffering is nothing.  We can be consoled in that.  In the consolation of our suffering, we can then offer that consolation to others who suffer.  With our natural thinking and operating in the flesh we tend to look at our suffering and say, "boy I have it bad…I can't see anyone who has it as bad as me.  Woe is me…………"   Sound familiar?   Do we find comfort from our suffering in Jesus Christ?  Does our comfort & consolation overflow to others?  Would others see God in the way we handle suffering?

Paul said that his hope was steadfast.  That means it was a rock-solid belief that if they were partakers of the suffering, they would also be partakers of the consolation.  The two went hand in hand.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. [NKJV (Romans 8:16–17). (1982). Thomas Nelson.]

 

2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Things had gotten bad.  In 1 Corinthians we read about the 'wild beasts' in Ephesus.  We know about the riot in Ephesus and we'll hear about the 39 stripes he received.  Paul experienced a heavy burden of persecution and affliction.  It was beyond his strength and ability to endure.  They, Paul and apparently Timothy, maybe others too, all thought they would lose their lives any time.  This puts perspective on the previous paragraph.

At times, the situation was so dire that Paul and those with him were at the door of death.  There was no longer any trust in them, in their judgments, decisions or anything else.  They were solely trusting in the Lord for every step, every breath and every heartbeat.  Each one seemed like it may be the last.  Every passing moment had the potential to be the last moment.  When time is precious, it does seem to slow down doesn't it?  When you're passing through those harrowing moments time almost stands still.  Paul and his company were walking through the Valley of the Shadow of death.

Even though death was all around they didn't fear it because they knew the God who raises the dead.  He delivered them from a 'so great a death'.  They were so close to death that when they were delivered, they felt as if they were brought to life again.

Since they were beyond trusting in their own abilities in any way, they learned to completely and wholly trust God.  And He delivered them.  It was by God's sovereign will; by His hand and by the prayers offered for their benefit that God saved them.  There could be no doubt that all the glory went to the Lord.

Paul was able to hold onto that thankfulness of life that comes nearly losing it.  He hadn't quickly forgotten the peril he had been under.  He was thankful to God but also thankful to those who prayed for him.  Those prayers were helpful and worked toward the outcome of his deliverance from that Valley of Death.  Prayer makes a difference……… Prayer works.

…. that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. [NKJV (Philippians 3:10–11). (1982). Thomas Nelson.]

 

2 Corinthians 1:12-14
Paul is defending his actions so much so that he willing to boast about them.  It was normal process for the professional speakers, the rhetoricians they were used to dealing with, to boast about themselves.  Paul boasts with the best of them, but his boast is in the Lord and the work God was doing.  Corinth was proof and their existence was a boast.  In kind, Corinth should feel they're boast was Paul and those who served with him.  However, some of the Corinthians had made accusations of Paul being insincere and deceitful (2 Cor 10:10).  Other probably became cynical; they apparently had been hurt or used by others.  Paul's defense was that what he had done was done with simplicity and in Godly sincerity; Paul, along with Timothy, Titus, Apollos and many others.  They weren't operating with the fleshly wisdom that the Corinthians were used to seeing.

Paul's boast was that all he said and did was above reproach.  They could disagree, argue, mock and scoff but they could not honestly call his conduct into question.  Paul operated by God's grace with honest concern and sincerity in all he said and did.  He conducted himself in holiness and piety and that's something each one of us should be able to say.  In every way, even when no one is looking, even when we can get away with a lower standard, we pursue the highest standard.  We pursue holiness.

Paul said in verse 13, For we are not writing any other things to you than what you read or understand.  Paul wanted them to know that what you see is what you get.  Don't read anything into the letter that isn't there.  The Christians didn't have to sit around saying, "Hmmm, I wonder what Paul is trying to say?"  Paul always said what needed said; there were no insinuations, hidden meanings or anything else.  Let the plain things be the main things and the main things be the plain things.  That's a good rule of bible study.

Paul is attempting to do a little mending here.  Remember the relationship between Paul and many of these people was severely damaged.  Paul is showing them that he was inexorably tied to that church in Corinth and that church was tied to Paul.  There was no getting away from that.  In the end, in the day of the Lord, each would boast about the other.  In the end, the bickering and hurt feelings of the severe letter and the painful visit will be long forgotten.

 

2 Corinthians 1:15-20   
At the end of the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul said he was going to come to them after his trip through Macedonia.  It appears Paul's travel plans changed.  It may be he changed his mind and decided to see them on the way and then again on the way back so they might have the two visits from the apostle and get twice the benefit.  Some believe Paul went to them on the way to Macedonia and it didn't go well; an harsh, confrontational visit cut short.  This could be what drove him to write the severe letter and Titus was sent to deliver it.  Others see a second change of plans to avoid confrontation and instead Paul sent a severe letter.  Because Paul changed his plans and then changed them again, and because he sent Titus instead of coming himself, there were people in Corinth saying that Paul was unreliable and untrustworthy.  They said he was fickle and couldn't make a decision.  One day it was yes, the next no.  Then it was no, the next yes.  Did his yes mean no and did his no mean yes?

Paul's responding to this, saying that didn't change his plans lightly.  He said his word was faithful just like the word of God is faithful.  You can't go around preaching this gospel message and not be affected by it.  Paul taught it.  Silvanus and Timothy taught it.  They preached the solid and reliable message of Jesus Christ.  There's no yes and no in the gospel.  It's not unreliable and untrustworthy, it's rock solid.  The answer is 'yes.'  God's promises never fail.  Travel plans or not, the message is the same regardless.  The yes in Jesus Christ doesn't change. 

If the folks of Corinth were upset with the outcome of things, they shouldn't have blamed Paul.  The disappointment is understandable but offering grace was in order.  Paul was being obedient and following the lead of the Holy Spirit in his life.  He couldn't be obedient to God and to their expectations at the same time.  They were calling Paul untrustworthy while he was being obedient to the Holy Spirit's guiding in his life.  It seems they wanted Paul's grace & peace but were unwilling to extend that same grace and peace to him.

 

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

The Holy Spirit is doing a work in each of our lives.  This is His ministry, to anoint us, seal us and give us the Spirit as a guarantee.  This anointing is an Old Testament thought.  This was done for prophets, priests and kings.  It was a preparation or equipping one for service.  As the Holy Spirit anoints us, we are equipped to serve God's purpose.  The Holy Spirit seals us; His seal is a mark upon us to show that we are His, we are authentic sons of God and we are under his protection.  The Holy Spirit in our life is a guarantee of our eternal future.  This is like an earnest down payment or a security deposit.  The presence of God, the Holy Spirit in our life today is a guarantee that some day we will be with Him in eternity.  As we each have an inconsolable longing in our heart for eternity then the presence of the Holy Spirit is a down payment toward the fulfillment of that longing.

That's pretty amazing.  There is nothing this life to fulfill that longing in each of us; there is nothing the world can throw at us to harm that promise.  The Holy Spirit gives us a taste of what's to come.  He shows us the God that made us.  He reveals our maker to us through the scriptures. 

 

2 Corinthians 1:23-24

There was no deceit in the heart of Paul.  He didn't mislead them; he didn't come because God didn't want him to.  This may have been to give them time for repentance, healing and growth.  Paul didn't have dominion over their faith, God did.  As an apostle and their spiritual father, he insisted on godly behavior and obedience to godly doctrine.  He gave them that apostolic kick in the seat by letter instead of coming and possibly discouraging any.  What he did was done out of love.

In the end, Paul said, we're all in this together.  If you want to live a life where you're relying on men to live and act a certain way, there will be misunderstanding.  You will be disappointed.  However, if you live a life to please God, then the Holy Spirit will guide you.  Then misunderstandings can be dealt with in faith.  The end of verse 24 says 'for by faith you stand'.  The people in Corinth didn't have a problem because Paul did or didn't come to them.  Their problem existed long before Paul.  Paul was being led by God in a ministry that took Him through this valley of death.  By his faith, he was standing.  In this misunderstanding, those in Corinth had gotten mad at Paul accusing him of being wishy washy.  By their faith, they stood, but they seemed to be standing more in a place on reliance of man.  Their faith seemed immature or weak.  When Paul thanked them earlier for praying for him, I wonder how many looked away and realized they hadn't prayed for Paul.  I'm sure some, in fact, hadn't given Paul's circumstances a thought.  They were more concerned with their own circumstances and feelings.

We see Paul's love for others in his concern for them and their well being.  It is an active love directed to those around him.  From the church of Corinth, we seem to see an overall concern that hasn't matured to that point yet.  To put it bluntly they were self centered and their feelings had gotten hurt.  By faith you stand or by lack of faith you fail to stand.  If you are failing to stand you can blame Paul, God, your parents, teachers, or the school system.  The world and the things of the world will disappoint.  People will disappoint you, but God never will.  By faith you stand.

How is your faith?  Is Jesus Christ right in the center?  Is He the focal point of your life?  It's in Him we live and move and have our being.  This world and this life will knock you to the ground and kick you around.  You will find yourself in that valley of the shadow of death.  Is your faith healthy?  Are you able to stand?   By your faith you stand.

 

©2006, 2010, 2016, 2022 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater