The First Epistle to the Corinthians. NICNT. Gordon D. Fee p

At the end of this letter Paul tells the Corinthians to prepare themselves, for he is coming to see them, and this visit will constitute the "third time I am coming to you" (2 Corinthians 13:1). Prior to the writing of the First Corinthian letter, we have only one recorded visit by Paul to Corinth in the book of Acts (Acts 18). In the First Corinthian letter Paul is intending to come to Corinth (4:18-19; 16:3-7), and yet, according to this second letter, Paul said he was coming to them a third time (2 Corinthians 12:14). Since we only have two recorded visits of Paul to Corinth (Acts 18, 20), this makes some think that Paul visited Corinth after the first letter, a visit that did not seem to help the situation at all. Two other lines of evidence can be cited for a short visit between these letters: A change in travel plans had taken place and certain members in Corinth had criticized Paul for this change (2 Corinthians 1:15-17). “ The words of 1:23 ‘ To spare you I came not as yet to Corinth’, and of 2:1 ‘I determined that I would not come again to you in heaviness’ implying a recent and a painful visit, for the original visit to Corinth when the church was founded could scarcely be said to have been undertaken in sorrow”. 20

Intense persecution had hit Paul in Asia (2 Corinthians 1:8-10:

Evidently the opposition that Paul had mentioned at the close of the first letter had erupted in a very severe persecution (16:9).

Titus had been sent to Corinth: (2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:6)

Apparently, before dispatching Titus, the arrangement had been that Titus would go to Corinth (by sea) and Paul would head north towards Troas (by land) to preach, and that they would meet in Troas. Paul was so concerned about the situation in Corinth, that he wanted the most reliable and up to date information possible. Not to mention the fact, that he had sent his best men to try to improve the situation.

Paul cannot wait for Titus at Troas: (2 Corinthians 2:12-13)

20 The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. R.V.G. Tasker p. 17

Even though Troas contained many opportunities to preach, the situation in Corinth is such a heavy load upon Paul's mind that he just can't wait for Titus. He decided to travel on so that he might meet Titus even sooner.

In Macedonia Paul meets Titus and the news is good: (2 Corinthians 7:5-16)

The Corinthians had exercised discipline upon the incestuous man (2:6ff). “They had been genuinely grieved by the letter, but their grief was not born of personal annoyance or wounded pride; it was not the sorrow of the world, but a godly sorrow productive of good works (7:9)” (Tasker p. 21). The bulk of the congregation had demonstrated that Paul's confidence in them had been a correct judgment (7:14), and Titus had formed close bonds with many of them (7:15).

The Condition of the Church

False teachers were among them: (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)

While we are not sure where these false brethren had come from, this letter does reveal the accusations which they had made against Paul. “This minority was alleging that Paul's word was not to be trusted--that he wrote or promised one thing, but did another (2 Corinthians 1:15-17). It was being said further that Paul's genuineness as an apostle was suspect because he had not come to Corinth with letters of commendation (3:1). They were suggesting that Paul was brave from a distance, writing impressive letters, but, when present, was the opposite of impressive both in authority and in oratory (10:10; 11:6). They asserted that the message preached by Paul was not worth listening to because, unlike the Greek rhetoricians, he made no charge for proclaiming it (11:7ff). They had even whispered that Paul's unwillingness to allow the Corinthians to contribute to his material needs was an indication that he had no love for them (11:11, 12:13ff), and had invented the shocking calumny that his financial independence was to be explained by the supposition that he was lining his own pockets with the money which he was collecting for the relief of the Christians in Jerusalem (8:20; 12:17)”. 21

The contribution for the poor saints was in jeopardy:

21 NICOT. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. Philip E. Hughes p. xix.