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Easton's Bible Dictionary
Shortly after writing his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul left Ephesus,
where intense excitement had been aroused against him, the evidence of his great
success, and proceeded to Macedonia. Pursuing the usual route, he reached Troas,
the port of departure for Europe. Here he expected to meet with Titus, whom he
had sent from Ephesus to Corinth, with tidings of the effects produced on the
church there by the first epistle; but was disappointed ( 1
Corinthians 16:9 ; 2
Corinthians 1:8 ;
2:12 ,
2:13 ). He then left Troas and proceeded to Macedonia; and at Philippi, where
he tarried, he was soon joined by Titus ( 2
Corinthians 7:6 ,
7:7 ), who brought him good news from Corinth, and also by Timothy. Under
the influence of the feelings awakened in his mind by the favourable report which
Titus brought back from Corinth, this second epistle was written. It was probably
written at Philippi, or, as some think, Thessalonica, early in the year A.D. 58,
and was sent to Corinth by Titus. This letter he addresses not only to the church
in Corinth, but also to the saints in all Achaia, i.e., in Athens, Cenchrea, and
other cities in Greece.
The contents of this epistle may be thus arranged:
(1) Paul speaks of his spiritual labours and course of life,
and expresses his warm affection toward the Corinthians (2
Corinthians 1 - 7).
(2) He gives specific directions regarding the collection that was to be made
for their poor brethren in Judea (2
Corinthians 8 ; 9).
(3) He defends his own apostolic claim (2
Corinthians 10 - 13),
and justifies himself from the charges and insinuations of the false teacher and
his adherents. |
This epistle, it has been well said, shows the individuallity of the apostle more
than any other. "Human weakness, spiritual strength, the deepest tenderness of
affection, wounded feeling, sternness, irony, rebuke, impassioned self-vindication,
humility, a just self-respect, zeal for the welfare of the weak and suffering,
as well as for the progress of the church of Christ and for the spiritual advancement
of its members, are all displayed in turn in the course of his appeal."--Lias,
Second Corinthians.
Of the effects produced on the Corinthian church by this epistle we have no definite
information. We know that Paul visited Corinth after he had written it ( Acts
20:2 ,
20:3 ), and that on that occasion he tarried there for three months. In his
letter to Rome, written at this time, he sent salutations from some of the principal
members of the church to the Romans.
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
(no entry)
Smith's Bible Dictionary
was written a few months subsequent to the first, in the same year --about the
autumn of A.D. 57 or 58 --at Macedonia. The epistle was occasioned by the information
which the apostle had received form Titus, and also, as it would certainly seem
probable, from Timothy, of the reception of the first epistle. This information,
as it would seem from our present epistle, was mainly favorable; the better part
of the church were returning to their spiritual allegiance to the founder, ( 2
Corinthians 1:13 , 1:14 ; 7:9 , 7:15 , 7:16 ) but there was still a faction who
strenuously denied Pauls claim to apostleship. The contents of this epistle comprise,
(1) the apostles account of the
character of his spiritual labors, chs. 1-7;
(2) directions about the collections, chs. 8,9;
(3) defence of his own apostolical character, chs. 10 - 13:10. |
The words in ( 1 Corinthians 5:9 ) seem to point to further epistles to the church
by Paul, but we have no positive evidence of any.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ko-rin'-thi-anz:
I. TEXT, AUTHENTICITY AND DATE
1. Internal Evidence
Compare what has already been said in the preceding article. In the two important
5th-century uncials, Codex Alexandrinus (A) and Codex Ephraemi (C), portions of
the text are lacking. As to the genuineness internal evidence very vividly attests
it. The distinctive elements of Pauline theology and eschatology, expressed in
familiar Pauline terms, are manifest throughout. Yet the epistle is not doctrinal
or didactic, but an intensely personal document. Its absorbing interest is in
events which were profoundly agitating Paul and the Corinthians at the time, straining
their relations to the point of rupture, and demanding strong action on Paul's
part. Our imperfect knowledge of the circumstances necessarily hinders a complete
comprehension, but the references to these events and to others in the personal
history of the apostle are so natural, and so manifestly made in good faith, that
no doubt rises in the reader's mind but that he is in the sphere of reality, and
that the voice he hears is the voice of the man whose heart and nerves were being
torn by the experiences through which he was passing. However scholars may differ
as to the continuity and integrity of the text, there is no serious divergence
among them in the opinion that all parts of the epistle are genuine writings of
the apostle.
2. External Evidence
Externally, the testimony of the sub-apostolic age, though not so frequent or
precise as in the case of 1 Corinthians, is still sufficiently clear to establish
the existence and use of the epistle in the 2nd century Clement of Rome is silent
when he might rather have been expected to use the epistle (compare Kennedy, Second
and Third Corinthians, 142); but it is quoted by Polycarp (Ad Phil., ii.4 and
vi.1), and in the Epistle to Diognetus 5 12, while it is amply attested to by
Irenaeus, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria.
3. Date
It was written from Macedonia (probably from Philippi) either in the autumn of
the same year as that in which 1 Corinthians was written, 54 or 55 AD, or in the
autumn of the succeeding year. |
II. RESUME OF EVENTS
Great difficulty exists as to the circumstances in which the epistle was written,
and as to the whole situation between 1 and 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians Paul
had intimated his intention of visiting the Corinthians and wintering with them,
coming to them through Macedonia (1 Corinthians 16:5 - 7; compare also Acts 19:21).
In 2 Corinthians 1:15 , 16 he refers to a somewhat different plan, Corinth--Macedonia--Corinth--Judaea;
and describes this return from Macedonia to Corinth as a second or double benefit.
But if this plan, on which he and his friends had counted, had not been entirely
carried out, it had been for good reason (2 Corinthians 1:17), and not due to
mere fickleness or light-hearted change to suit his own convenience. It was because
he would "spare" them (2 Corinthians 1:23), and not come to them "again with sorrow"
(2 Corinthians 2:1). That is, he had been with them, but there had been such a
profound disturbance in their relations that he dared not risk a return meantime;
instead, he had written a letter to probe and test them, "out of much affliction
and anguish of heart .... with many tears" (2 Corinthians 2:4) Thank God, this
severe letter had accomplished its mission. It had produced sorrow among them
(2 Corinthians 2:2 ; 7:8 , 9)but it had brought their hearts back to him with
the old allegiance, with great clearing of themselves, and fear and longing and
zeal (2 Corinthians 7:11). There was a period, however, of waiting for knowledge
of this issue, which was to him a period of intense anxiety; he had even nervously
regretted that he had written as he did (2 Corinthians 7:5 - 8). Titus, who had
gone as his representative to Corinth, was to return with a report of how this
severe letter had been received, and when Titus failed to meet him at Troas 2
Corinthians 2:13, he had "no relief for his spirit," but pushed on eagerly to
Macedonia to encounter him the sooner. Then came the answer, and the lifting of
the intolerable burden from his mind. "He that comforteth the lowly, even God,
comforted" him (2 Corinthians 7:6). The Corinthians had been swayed by a godly
sorrow and repentance (2 Corinthians 7:8), and the sky had cleared again with
almost unhoped-for brightness. One who had offended (2 Corinthians 2:5 and 7:12)--but
whose offense is not distinctly specified--had been disciplined by the church;
indeed, in the revulsion of feeling against him, and in sympathy for the apostle,
he had been punished so heavily that there was a danger of passing to an extreme,
and plunging him into despair (2 Corinthians 2:7). Paul accordingly pleads for
leniency and forgiveness, lest further resentment should lead only to a further
and sadder wrong (2:6 - 11). But in addition to this offender there were others,
probably following in his train, who had carried on a relentless attack against
the apostle both in his person and in his doctrine. He earnestly defends himself
against their contemptuous charges of fleshliness and cowardice (chapter 10),
and crafty venality (2 Corinthians 12:16 , 17). Another Jesus is preached, a different
spirit, a different gospel (2 Corinthians 11:4). They "commend themselves" (2
Corinthians 10:12), but are false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan,
fashioning themselves into ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13 , 14). Their
attacks are vehemently repelled in an eloquent apologia (chapters 11 and 12),
and he declares that when he comes the third time they will not be spared (2 Corinthians
13:2). Titus, accompanied by other well-known brethren, is again to be the representative
of the apostle 2 Corinthians 8:6,17. At no great interval Paul himself followed,
thus making his third visit (2 Corinthians 12:14 ; 13:1), and so far fulfilled
his original purpose that he spent the winter peacefully in Corinth (compare Acts
20:2 , 3 ; Romans 15:25 - 27 and 1 Corinthians 16:23).
III. THE NEW SITUATION
It is manifest that we are in the presence of a new and unexpected situation,
whose development is not clearly defined, and concerning which we have elsewhere
no source of information. To elucidate it, the chief points requiring attention
are:
1. The Offender
The offender in 1 Corinthians 5:1 - 5 had been guilty of incest, and Paul was
grieved that the church of Corinth did not regard with horror a crime which even
the pagan world would not have tolerated. His judgment on the case was uncompromising
and the severest possible--that, in solemn assembly, in the name and with the
power of the Lord Jesus, the church should deliver such a one to Satan for the
destruction of the flesh. On the other hand, the offender in 2 Corinthians 2:5
is one who obviously has transgressed less heinously, and in a way more personal
to the apostle. The church, roused by the apostle to show whether they indeed
cared for him and stood by him (2 Corinthians 2:9; 13:7), had, by a majority,
brought censure to bear on this man, and Paul now urged that matters should go
no farther, lest an excess of discipline should really end in a triumph of Satan.
It is not possible to regard such references as applying to the crime dealt with
in 1 Corinthians. Purposely veiled as the statements are, it would yet appear
that a personal attack had been made on the apostle; and the "many" in Corinth
(2 Corinthians 2:6), having at length espoused his cause, Paul then deals with
the matter in the generous spirit he might have been expected to display. Even
if the offender were the same person, which is most improbable, for he can scarcely
have been retained in the membership, the language is not language that could
have been applied to the earlier case. There has been a new offense in new circumstances.
The apostle had been grievously wronged in the presence of the church, and the
Corinthians had not spontaneously resented the wrong. That is what wounded the
apostle most deeply, and it is to secure their change in this respect that is
his gravest concern.
2. The False Teachers
Esp. in the later chapters of 2 Corinthians there are, as we have seen, descriptions
of an opposition by false teachers that is far beyond anything met with in 1 Corinthians.
There indeed we have a spirit of faction, associated with unworthy partiality
toward individual preachers, but nothing to lead us to suspect the presence of
deep and radical differences undermining the gospel. The general consensus of
opinion is that this opposition was of a Judaizing type, organized and fostered
by implacable anti-Pauline emissaries from Palestine, who now followed the track
of the apostle in Achaia as they did in Galatia. As they arrogated to themselves
a peculiar relation to Christ Himself ("Christ's men" and "ministers of Christ,"
2 Corinthians 10:7 ; 11:13), it is possible that the Christus-party of 1 Corinthians
(and possibly the Cephas-party) may have persisted and formed the nucleus round
which these newcomers built up their formidable opposition. One man seems to have
been conspicuous as their ring-leader (2 Corinthians 10:7 , 11), and to have made
himself specially obnoxious to the apostle. In all probability we may take it
that he was the offender of 2 Corinthians 2 and 7. Under his influence the opposition
audaciously endeavored to destroy the gospel of grace by personal attacks upon
its most distinguished exponent. Paul was denounced as an upstart and self-seeker,
destitute of any apostolic authority, and derided for the contemptible appearance
he made in person, in contrast with the swelling words and presumptuous claims
of his epistles It is clear, therefore, that a profound religious crisis had arisen
among the Corinthians, and that there was a danger of their attachment to Paul
and his doctrine being destroyed.
3. The Painful Visit
2 Corinthians 12:14 and 2 Corinthians 13:1 , 2 speak of a third visit in immediate
prospect, and the latter passage also refers to a second visit that had been already
accomplished; while 2:1 distinctly implies that a visit had taken place of a character
so painful that the apostle would never venture to endure a similar one. As this
cannot possibly refer to the first visit when the church was founded, and cannot
easily be regarded as indicating anything previous to 1 Corinthians which never
alludes to such an experience, we must conclude that the reference points to the
interval between 1 and 2 Corinthians. It was then beyond doubt that the visit
"with sorrow," which humbled him (2 Corinthians 12:21) and left such deep wounds,
had actually taken place. "Any exegesis," says Weizsacker justly, "that would
avoid the conclusion that Paul had already been twice in Corinth is capricious
and artificial" (Apostolic Age, I, 343). Sabatier ( Apostle Paul, 172 note) records
his revised opinion: "The reference here (2 Corinthians 2:1) is to a second and
quite recent visit, of which he retained a very sorrowful recollection, including
it among the most bitter trials of his apostolical career."
4. The Severe Letter
Paul not only speaks of a visit which had ended grievously, but also of a letter
which he had written to deal with the painful circumstances, and as a kind of
ultimatum to bring the whole matter to an issue (2 Corinthians 2:4 ; 7:8). This
letter was written because he could not trust himself meantime to another visit.
He was so distressed and agitated that he wrote it "with many tears";
after it was written he repented of it; and until he knew its effect he endured
torture so keen that he hastened to Macedonia to meet his messenger, Titus, halfway.
It is impossible by any stretch of interpretation to refer this language to 1
Corinthians, which on the whole is dominated by a spirit of didactic calm, and
by a consciousness of friendly rapport with its recipients. Even though there
be in it occasional indications of strong feeling, there is certainly nothing
that we can conceive the apostle might have wished to recall. The alternative
has generally been to regard this as another case of a lost epistle Just as the
writer of Ac appears to have been willing that the deplorable visit itself should
drop into oblivion, so doubtless neither Paul nor the Corinthians would be very
anxious to preserve an epistle which echoed with the gusts and storms of such
a visit. On the other hand a strong tendency has set in to regard this intermediate
epistle as at least in part preserved in 2 Corinthians 10 - 13, whose tone, it
is universally admitted, differs from that of the preceding chapters in a remarkable
way, not easily accounted for. The majority of recent writers seem inclined to
favor this view, which will naturally fall to be considered under the head of
"Integrity." |
IV. HISTORICAL RECONSTRUCTION
In view of such an interpretation, we may with considerable probability trace
the course of events in the interval between 1 and 2 Corinthians as follows: After
the dispatch of 1 Corinthians, news reached the apostle of a disquieting character;
probably both Titus and Timothy, on returning from Corinth, reported the growing
menace of the opposition fostered by the Judaizing party. Paul felt impelled to
pay an immediate visit, and found only too sadly that matters had not been overstated.
The opposition was strong and full of effrontery, and the whole trend of things
was against him. In face of the congregation he was baffled and flouted. He returned
to Ephesus, and poured out his indignation in a severe epistle, which he sent
on by the hands of Titus. Before Titus could return, events took a disastrous
form in Ephesus, and Paul was forced to leave that city in peril of his life.
He went to Troas, but, unable to wait patiently there for tidings of the issue
in Corinth, he crossed to Macedonia, and met Titus, possibly in Philippi. The
report was happily reassuring; the majority of the congregation returned to their
old attachment, and the heavy cloud of doubt and anxiety was dispelled from the
apostle's mind. He then wrote again--the present epistle--and forwarded it by
Titus and other brethren, he himself following a little later, and finally wintering
in Corinth as he had originally planned. If it be felt that the interval between
spring and autumn of the same year is too brief for these events, the two epistles
must be separated by a period of nearly 18 months, 1 Corinthians being referred
to the spring of 54 or 55, and 2 Corinthians to the autumn of 55 or 56 AD. (Reference
on the reconstruction should especially be made to Weizsacker's Apostolic Age,
English translation, I; to Sabatier's Note to the English edition (1893) of his
Apostle Paul; and to Robertson's article in Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible
(five volumes).)
V. INTEGRITY OF THE EPISTLE
Although the genuineness of the various parts of the epistle is scarcely disputed,
the homogeneity is much debated. Semler and some later writers, including Clemen
(Einheitlichkeit), have thought that 2 Corinthians 9 should be eliminated as logically
inconsistent with chapter 8, and as evidently forming part of a letter to the
converts of Achaia. But the connection with chapter 8 is too close to permit of
severance, and the logical objection, founded on the phraseology of 9:1, is generally
regarded as hypercritical. There are two sections, however, whose right to remain
integral parts of 2 Corinthians has been more forcibly challenged.
1. 2 Corinthians 6:14 - 7:1
The passage 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1 deals with the inconsistency
and peril of intimate relations with the heathen, and is felt to be incongruous
with the context. No doubt it comes strangely after an appeal to the Corinthians
to show the apostle the same frankness and kindness that he is showing them; whereas
7:2 follows naturally and links itself closely to such an appeal. When we remember
that the particular theme of the lost letter referred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9
was the relation of the converts to the immoral, it is by no means unlikely that
we have here preserved a stray fragment of that epistle
2. 2 Corinthians 10:1 - 13:10
It is universally acknowledged that there is a remarkable change in the tone of
the section 2 Corinthians 10:1 - 13:10, as Compared with that of the previous
chapters In the earlier chapters there is relief at the change which Titus has
reported as having taken place in Corinth, and the spirit is one of gladness and
content; but from chapter 10 onward the hostility to the apostle is unexpectedly
represented as still raging, and as demanding the most strenuous treatment. The
opening phrase, "Now I Paul" (2 Corinthians 10:1), is regarded as indicating
a distinctive break from the previous section with which Timothy is associated
(2 Corinthians 1:1), while the concluding verse, 2 Corinthians 13:11 to end, seem
fittingly to close that section, but to be abruptly out of harmony with the polemic
that ends at 2 Corinthians 13:10. Accordingly it is suggested that 13:11 should
immediately follow 9:15, and that 2 Corinthians 10:1 - 13:10 be regarded as a
lengthy insertion from some other epistle. Those who, while acknowledging the
change of tone, yet maintain the integrity of the epistle, do so on the ground
that the apostle was a man of many moods, and that it is characteristic of him
to make unexpected and even violent transitions; that new reports of a merely
scotched antagonism may come in to ruffle and disturb his comparative contentment;
and that in any case he might well deem it advisable finally to deliver his whole
soul on a matter over which he had brooded and suffered deeply, so that there
might be no mistake about the ground being cleared when he arrived in person.
The question is still a subject of keen discussion, and is not one on which it
is easy to pronounce dogmatically. On the whole, however, it must be acknowledged
that the preponderance of recent opinion is in favor of theory of interpolation.
Hausrath (Der Vier-Capitel-Brief des Paulus an die Korinther, 1870) gave an immense
impetus to the view that this later section really represents the painful letter
referred to in 2 Corinthians 2 and 7. As that earlier letter, however, must have
contained references to the personal offender, the present section, which omits
all such references, can be regarded as at most only a part of it. This theory
is ably and minutely expounded by Schmiedel (Hand-Kommentar); and Pfleiderer,
Lipsius, Clemen, Krenkel, von Soden, McGiffert, Cone, Plummer, Rendall, Moffatt,
Adeney, Peake, and Massie are prominent among its adherents. J. H. Kennedy (Second
and Third Cor) presents perhaps the ablest and fullest argument for it that has
yet appeared in English. On the other hand Sanday (Encyclopaedia Biblica) declares
against it, and Robertson (Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible (five volumes)) regards
it as decidedly not proven; while critics of such weight as Holtzmann, Beyschlag,
Klopper, Weizsacker, Sabatier, Godet, Bernard, Denney, Weiss, and Zahn are all
to be reckoned as advocates of the integrity of the epistle. |
VI. CONTENTS OF THE EPISTLE
The order of matter in 2 Corinthians is quite clearly defined. There are three
main divisions:
1. 2 Corinthians 1 - 7
The first seven chapters in 2 Corinthians as a whole are taken up with a retrospect
of the events that have recently transpired, joyful references to the fact that
the clouds of grief in connection with them have been dispelled, and that the
evangelical ministry as a Divine trust and power is clearly manifested. After
a cordial salutation, in which Timothy is associated, Paul starts at once to express
his profound gratitude to God for the great comfort that had come to him by the
good news from Corinth, rejoicing in it as a spiritual enrichment that will make
his ministry still more fruitful to the church (2 Corinthians 1:3 - 11). He professes
his sincerity in all his relations with the Corinthians, and particularly vindicates
it in connection with a change in the plan which had originally promised a return
("a second benefit") to Corinth; his sole reason for refraining, and for writing
a painful letter instead, being his desire to spare them and to prove them (2
Corinthians 1:12 ; 2:4 , 9). Far from harboring any resentment against the man
who had caused so much trouble, he sincerely pleads that his punishment by the
majority should go no farther, but that forgiveness should now reign, lest the
Adversary should gain an advantage over them (2 Corinthians 2:5 - 11). It was
indeed an agonizing experience until the moment he met Titus, but the relief was
all the sweeter and more triumphant when God at length gave it, as he might have
been sure He would give it to a faithful and soul-winning servant of Christ (2
Corinthians 2:12 - 17). He does not indeed wish to enter upon any further apologies
or self-commendation. Some believe greatly in letters of commendation, but his
living testimonial is in his converts. This he has, not of himself, but entirely
through God, who alone has made him an efficient minister of the new and abiding
covenant of the Spirit, whose glory naturally excels that of the old dispensation
which fadeth because it really cannot bring life. Regarding this glorious ministry
he must be bold and frank. It needs no veil as if to conceal its evanescence.
Christ presents it unveiled to all who turn to Him, and they themselves, reflecting
His glory, are spiritually transformed (2 Corinthians 3:1 - 18). As for those
who by God's mercy have received such a gospel ministry, it is impossible for
them to be faint-hearted in its exercise, although the eyes of some may be blinded
to it, because the god of this world enslaves them (2 Corinthians 4:4). It is
indeed wonderful that ministers of this grace should be creatures so frail, so
subject to pressure and affliction, but it is not inexplicable. So much the more
obvious is it that all the power and glory of salvation are from God alone (2
Corinthians 4:7 , 15). Yea, even if one be called to die in this ministry, that
is but another light and momentary affliction. It is but passing from a frail
earthly tent to abide forever in a heavenly home (2 Corinthians 5:1). Who would
not long for it, that this mortal may be swallowed up in immortality? Courage,
therefore, is ours to the end, for that end only means the cessation of our separation
from Christ, whom it is a joy to serve absent or present. And present we shall
all ultimately be before Him on the judgment throne (2 Corinthians 5:10). That
itself unspeakably deepens the earnestness with which preachers of the gospel
seek to persuade men. It is the love of Christ constraining them (2 Corinthians
5:14) in the ministry of reconciliation, that they should entreat men as ambassadors
on Christ's behalf (2 Corinthians 5:20). So sacred and responsible a trust has
subdued the apostle's own life, and is indeed the key to its manifold endurance,
and to the earnestness with which he has striven to cultivate every grace, and
to submit himself to every discipline (2 Corinthians 6:1 - 10). Would God the
Corinthians might open their hearts to him as he does to them! (Let them have
no fellowship with iniquity, but perfect holiness in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians
6:14 - 7:1.) He has never wronged them; they are enshrined in his heart, living
or dying; he glories in them, and is filled with comfort in all his affliction
(2 Corinthians 6:11 - 13 ; 7:2 - 4). For what blessed comfort that was that Titus
brought him in Macedonia to dispel his fears, and to show that the things he regretted
and grieved to have written had done no harm after all, but had rather wrought
in them the joyful change for which he longed! Now both they and he knew how dear
he was to them. Titus, too, was overjoyed by the magnanimity of their reception
of him. The apostle's cup is full, and "in everything he is of good courage concerning
them" (2 Corinthians 7:16).
2. 2 Corinthians 8 - 9
In the second section, 2 Corinthians 8 - 9, the apostle, now abundantly confident
of their good-will, exhorts the Corinthians on the subject of the collection for
the poor saints at Jerusalem. He tells them of the extraordinary liberality of
the Macedonian churches, and invites them to emulate it, and by the display of
this additional grace to make full proof of their love (2 Corinthians 8:1 - 8).
Nay, they have a higher incentive than the liberality of Macedonia, even the self-sacrifice
of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 8:9). Wherefore let them go on with the good
work they were so ready to initiate a year ago, giving out of a willing mind,
as God hath enabled them (2 Corinthians 8:10 - 15). Further to encourage them
he sends on Titus and other well-known and accredited brethren, whose interest
in them is as great as his own, and he is hopeful that by their aid the matter
will be completed, and all will rejoice when he comes, bringing with him probably
some of those of Macedonia, to whom he has already been boasting of their zeal
(2 Corinthians 8:16 - 9:5). Above all, let them remember that important issues
are bound up with this grace of Christian liberality. It is impossible to reap
bountifully, if we sow sparingly. Grudging and compulsory benevolence is a contradiction,
but God loveth and rewardeth a cheerful giver. This grace blesseth him that gives
and him that takes. Many great ends are served by it. The wants of the needy are
supplied, men's hearts are drawn affectionately to one another, thanksgivings
abound, and God himself is glorified (2 Corinthians 9:6-).
3. 2 Corinthians 10 - 13
The third section, 2 Corinthians 10 - 13, as has been pointed out, is a spirited
and even passionate polemic, in the course of which the Judaizing party in Corinth
is vigorously assailed. The enemies of the apostle have charged him with being
very bold and courageous when he is absent, but humble enough when he is present.
He hopes the Corinthians will not compel him to show his courage (2 Corinthians
10:2). It is true, being human, he walks in the flesh, but not in the selfish
and cowardly way his opponents suggest. The weapons of his warfare are not carnal,
yet are they mighty before God to cast down such strongholds as theirs, such vain
imaginations and disobedience. Some boast of being "Christ's," but that is no
monopoly; he also is Christ's. They think his letters are mere "sound and fury,
signifying nothing"; by and by they will discover their mistake. If he should
glory in his authority, he is justified, for Corinth was verily part of his God-appointed
province, and he at least did not there enter on other men's labors. But it would
be well if men who gloried confined themselves to glorying "in the Lord." For
after all it is His commendation alone that is of any permanent value (2 Corinthians
10:3 - 18). Will the adepts - Corinthians bear with him in a little of this foolish
boasting? Truly he ventures on it out of concern for them (2 Corinthians 11:2).
And as they are manifest in toleration, abounding in patience toward those who
have come with a different gospel, they may perhaps extend some of their indulgence
to him, for though he cannot lay claim to a polished oratory comparable to that
of these "super-eminent" apostles, yet at least he is not behind them in knowledge
(2 Corinthians 11:4 - 6). Can it be that he really sinned in preaching the gospel
to them without fee or reward? Was it a mark of fleshly cunning when he resolved
not to be burdensome to them, while he accepted supplies from Macedonia? Ah! it
was not because he did not love them, but because he decided to give no occasion
to those who were too ready to blame him--those false apostles, who, like Satan
himself, masqueraded as angels of light and ministers of righteousness (2 Corinthians
11:7 - 15). Come, then, let him to this glorying, this poor folly, which they
in their superlative wisdom bear with so gladly in the case of those insolent
creatures who now bully and degrade them (2 Corinthians 11:16 - 21). Hebrews!
Israelites! So is he. Ministers of Christ! There he excels them- in labors, in
perils, in persecutions; in burdens, anxieties, sympathies; in visions and revelations
of the Lord; in infirmities and weaknesses that have made more manifest in him
the strength of Christ 2 Corinthians 11:22 - 12:10. Certainly all this is folly,
but they are most to blame for it who, through lack of loyalty, have forced him
to it. Did he injure them by declining to be burdensome? Is it so sore a point?
Let it be forgiven! Yet when he comes again he will take no other course (2 Corinthians
12:11 - 18). They must not imagine that in all this he is excusing himself to
them. He is sincerely and affectionately concerning himself for their edifying.
He trembles lest when they meet again they should be disappointed in each other;
lest they should be found in unworthy strife and tumults, and lest he should be
humbled of God before them, having cause to mourn over some who are hardened and
impenitent in their sins (2 Corinthians 12:19 - 21). For they must meet again--he
is coming for the third time--and this time he will not spare. Let them prove
themselves whether they be in the faith; for surely they must know whether Christ
be in them. He earnestly prays for their goodness and honor; not to the end that
no display of his power may be called for, but simply that he will be glad to
appear weak if they should appear strong. Could they but believe it, their perfecting
is the aim of all his labors (2 Corinthians 13:1 - 10). And so, with words of
grace and tenderness, exhorting them to unity and peace, and pronouncing over
them the threefold benediction, he bids them farewell (2 Corinthians 13:11 - 4). |
VII. VALUE OF THE EPISTLE LITERATURE
The chief element of value in this epistle is the revelation it gives of the apostle
himself. Through all its changing moods, Paul, in perfect abandon, shows us his
very soul, suffering, rejoicing, enduring, overcoming. It has been truly said
that "it enables us, as it were, to lay our hands upon his breast, and feel the
very throbbings of his heart."
(1) In relation to his converts, it shows us how sensitive
he was, how easy it was to touch him on the quick, and to wound his feelings.
The apostle was very human, and nowhere are his kindred limitations more obvious
than in these present incidents. He would probably be the first to acquiesce,
if it were said that even with him the creed was greater than the life. In the
hastily written and nervously repented passages of that severe epistle; in the
restless wandering, like a perturbed spirit, from Troas to Macedonia, to meet
the news and know the issue of his acts, we see a man most lovable indeed, most
like ourselves when issues hang in the balance, but a man not already perfect,
not yet risen to the measure of the stature of Christ. Yet we see also the intensity
with which Paul labored in his ministry--the tenacity with which he held to his
mission, and the invincible courage with which he returned to the fight for his
imperiled church. He loved those converts as only a great soul in Christ could
love them. His keenest sorrow came in the disaster that threatened them, and he
flew to their defense. He had not only won them for Christ, he was willing to
die that he might keep them for Christ.
(2) The epistle is charged with a magnificent consciousness on the apostle's part
of his high calling in Christ Jesus. He has been called with a Divine calling
to the most glorious work in which a man can engage, to be to this estranged earth
an ambassador of heaven. Received as Divine, this vocation is accepted with supreme
devotion. It has been a ministry of sorrow, of strain and suffering, of hairbreadth
escapes with the bare life; with its thorn in the flesh, its buffering of Satan.
Yet through it all there rings the note of abounding consolation in Christ Jesus,
and never was the "power of Christ," resting on frail humanity, more
signally manifested. |
LITERATURE.
See the references to both epistles, and to 2 Corinthians alone, under this heading
in the preceding article. To the list there given should be added Moffatt's Introduction
to the Literature of the New Testament, 1911; valuable for its critical presentation
of recent views, and for its references to the literature.
R. Dykes Shaw
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, book of 2 corinthians, church in corinth, define, judea, new testament, paul, second epistle to the corinthians, timothy, titus
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