Introduction to II Corinthians

I.OPENING STATEMENTS

A.This book, more than any other letter of Paul, shows us the heart and mind of the apostle to the

Gentiles. It is truly his autobiography.

B.This book is a strange combination, like Paul himself, of spiritual highs and lows, of free flowing emotions ranging from anger to great joy.

C.This book is truly a letter and as a letter it is only one half of a conversation. Many of the logical antecedents and circumstances have been lost. This is a good example of the truth that the epistles of the NT were originally written as correspondence to specific needs, not theological dissertations.

D.This book has been neglected by scholarship and in preaching. This is unfortunate because it is the source of some of Paul’s most striking metaphors. It is also Paul’s most definitive discussion of the suffering of the Christian.

E.For pastors this book offers some help on how to deal with problems related to local churches.

Paul gives us all an example to follow amidst personal attacks and misunderstandings.

II. HISTORICAL SETTING

A.Author 1.Even amidst all of the modern denials of the traditional authorship of biblical books, this book has never been denied to Paul. 2.It is so autobiographical and so difficult to understand some of its phrases that the possibility of someone trying to mimic Paul by writing a book like this is highly improbable. Its difficulty speaks of its genuineness. 3.Paul is stated to be the author in 1:1 and 10:1. In my opinion this settles the question of authorship.

B.Date 1.The date of II Corinthians is inseparably linked to I Corinthians and the book of Acts. 2.Acts 18:1-18 and 20:2-3 relate Paul’s being in Corinth, but there also seems to have been at least one unrecorded trip (II Cor. 2:1, with a third visit mentioned in 12:14 and 13:1-2). 3.The major question is the time relationship between Paul’s visits and his letters to Corinth. 4.The real problem with dating the events related to Corinth is that we have no external evidence or information between Acts 18:1-18 and Acts 20:2-3 except the ambiguous internal evidence of the Corinthian letters themselves.

Date Visits Letters

A.D. 52 (Gallio was proconsul from A.D. 52, cf. Acts 18:12) a. on Paul’s 2nd missionary journey he stayed in Corinth 18 months and established the church, Acts 18:1-18

a. I Cor. 5:9-11 seems to refer to a letter about an immoral situation in the church. This letter is unknown unless, as some suppose, that II Cor. 6:14-7:1 is part of it.

A.D. 56 (spring)

A.D. 56 (winter) or A.D. 57 (winter)

A.D. 57-58 (winter) b. Paul hears about problems in the church while he is in Ephesus from two sources: (1) Chloe’s people, I Cor. 1:11 and (2) Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, I Cor. 16:17. They apparently brought a letter from Corinth containing questions. b. Paul answers these questions (cf. I Cor. 7:1,25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1,12) by writing I Corinthians. Timothy (I Cor. 4:17) takes I Corinthians from Ephesus (I Cor. 16:8) to Corinth. Timothy was not able to solve the problems in the church.

c. Paul made on emergency, painful visit to Corinth (not recorded in Acts (II Cor. 2:1). It was not successful, but he vowed to return. c. Paul wrote a severe letter (II Cor. 2:3-4,9; 7:8-12) to Corinth, which was taken by Titus (II Cor. 2:13; 7:13-15). This letter is unknown unless, as some suppose, it is found in II Cor. 10:13

d. Paul planned to go meet Titus in Troas, but Titus did not come so Paul went to Macedonia (II Cor. 2:13; 7:5,13), possibly Philippi (cf. MSS Bc, K, L, P). d. He found Titus and heard that the church had responded to his leadership and he wrote II Cor. in great thanksgiving (cf. 7:11-16). It was taken to Corinth by Titus.

e. Paul’s last recorded visit to Corinth seems to be referred to in Acts 20:2-3. Although it does not mention Corinth by name it is assumed. He stayed there during the winter months. e. The marked mood contrast between chapters 1-9 and 10-13 is explained by some. as more bad news came after chapters 1-9 had been written (F. F. Bruce)

A.D. 62-68 f. There is the possibility of one or more visits if the Pastorals are a partial record of a fourth missionary journey.

C.How many letters did Paul write to Corinth? 1.just two, I and II Corinthians 2.three with one letter being lost 3.four with two lost letters 4.some modern scholars find the two lost letters in II Corinthians a.previous letter (I Cor. 5:9) in II Cor. 6:14-7:1 b.severe letter (II Cor. 2:1-4,9; 7:8-12) in II cor. 10-13

5.five, with II Cor. 10-13 being the fifth letter, sent after Titus’ report relating the further bad news 6.I hold to #3 a.previous letter - lost (I Cor. 5:9) b.I Corinthians c.severe letter - lost (II Cor. 2:1-11; 7:8-12) d.II Corinthians

D.Paul’s enemies at Corinth 1.Initially the problem seems to be with native Corinthians. Their immoral pagan and Greek philosophical background seems to be the source (II Cor. 2:1-11; 6:14-7:1). 2.The arrival of Jewish trouble-makers from Palestine were the other enemies of Paul. They are different from the Judaizers of Galatians and the Jewish/Greek legalists of Colossians (II Cor. 10-13).

E.Occasion and purpose of II Corinthian 1.The basic purpose is threefold a.thankfulness for church’s positive response to Paul’s leadership (7:11-16) b.for the church to prepare for Paul’s third visit (10:1-11) (his second was apparently painful and unsuccessful) c.to refute the itinerant Jewish false teachers (10-12) who had rejected Paul’s (1) person (2)motives (3)authority (4)gospel

F.Brief Outline 1.Outlining this book is extremely difficult because of a.mood swings b.variety of subjects c.extended parentheses (2:14-7:1 or 7:4) d.our limited knowledge of the local situation 2.However, there are obviously three major subject divisions a.Paul responds to Titus’ message and relates his travel plans, chapters 1-7 (there is a major parenthesis dealing with Paul’s apostolic ministry, 2:14-7:1 or 7:4) b.Paul’s encouragement for the completion of the contributio for the Jerusalem church, chapters 8-9 c.Paul’s defense of his apostolic authority, chapters 10-13 3.I affirm the unity of II Corinthians a.there is no hint of disunity in any of the Greek manuscripts b.no variations of the literary units c.no MS which does not contain all thirteen chapters 4.Although it apparently is unknown to Clement of Rome in A.D. 96 it is quoted by Polycarp in A.D. 105. 5.The book is understandable as a unit. There seems to be certain themes which show its unity, like “suffering.” 6.The internal evidence is too limited to defend a radical separation of II Corinthians.

1.Grace and peace, 1:2 2.“in the day of our Lord Jesus,” 1:14 3.sealed, 1:22 4.“leads us in triumph,” 2:14 5.sweet aroma, 2:14 6.“peddling the word of God,” 2:17 7.“letters of commendation,” 3:1 8.“from the Lord, the Spirit,” 3:18 9.outer man, 4:16 10.inner man, 4"16 11.earthly tent, 5:1 12.“the Spirit as a pledge,” 5:5 13.new creature, 5:17 14.reconciled, 5:18 15.“the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,” 10:4 16.angel of light, 11:14 17.the third heaven, 12:2 18.Paradise, 12:4 19.holy kiss, 13:12

IV. PERSONS TO BRIEFLY IDENTIFY

1.“the god of this world,” 4:4 2.Belial, 6:15 3.Titus, 7:6

V. MAP LOCATIONS TO PLOT

1.Achaia, 1:1 2.Asia, 1:8 3.Macedonia, 1:16 4.Judea, 1:16 5.Corinth, 1:23 6.Troas, 2:12 7.Damascus, 11:32

VI. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.What are the theological implications of 1:20? 2.Explain in your own words 3:6. 3.How is the term “veil” used in two senses in chapter 3? (4:3) 4.List Paul’s suffering in 4:7-11; 6:4-10; 11:23-28 5.Will believers appear before the judgment seat of Christ? If so, for what? 6.Explain in your own words the spiritual principle of 5:14-15. 7.What doctrine is 5:21 stating? 8.List the principles of giving found in chapters 8-9.

9.How do Paul’s enemies describe him in 10:10? 10. Who is Paul referring to in 11:4? 11.List the ways Paul compares himself to others in 11:21-30. 12.What was Paul’s thorn in the flesh? (12:7)