Bible Commentaries
2 Corinthians

2 CORINTHIANS

XXVI

HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION AND EXPOSITION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

2 Corinthians 1:1-20.

The second letter to the Corinthians grows out of the first and its development. Paul wrote it. We know that the first letter was written at Ephesus just before Pentecost, In the spring. This letter was written soon afterwards, probably in the summer, A.D. 57.

Acts 19:21-22 tells us how he left Ephesus, where he wrote the first letter; also, Acts 20:1. In this letter, 2 Corinthians 7:5-13, after leaving Ephesus he came to Troas, the site of ancient Troy, whence he set out to establish the gospel in Europe on a previous expedition. At Troas he had appointed a rendezvous with Titus, who took the first letter to Corinth. He told Titus to meet him at Troas and report about the reception of that letter. When he got to Troas our letter tells us that he was distressed in mind about not meeting Titus and hearing the effect of his first letter – so distressed that he could not work, though a great door was opened to him. So he left Troas and crossed over into Macedonia. This letter tells us that in Macedonia, not specifying where, Titus came to him with the report of the reception of the first letter. On the reception of that report he wrote this second letter and sent it back by Titus. So his letter grows out of the report of Titus. In studying its parts we can easily find out what the report was, and thereby get the key to the occasion of the letter.

Titus reports first, that when he got to Corinth, the other letter was well received, but that they received him in fear and trembling. We find that statement in 2 Corinthians 7:15. He states, in the second place, that the majority of the church were deeply penitent over the wrongs that had provoked the first letter, particularly with reference to this case of fornication in the church. When we study the character of that repentance we find one of the best lessons on repentance to be found in the Word of God. He then states that under this penitence the church excluded the erring man, and that the erring man himself was made penitent by the action of the church and Paul’s letter. He then tells Paul that he had commenced to take the collection for which he had been sent, and that it was progressing very well, though not completed yet. All that was very satisfactory and lifted a great burden off Paul’s heart.

But Titus brought a mixed report. Some of it was bad. He reported that some members of the church were unequally yoked with unbelievers, who by their association with heathen in the festivals and games disqualified themselves for the true Christian life.

A very distinguished Alabama lady wrote me once about dancing and said, "I found that, while it seemed to be innocent per se, its spirit was such that it became a foe to grace in my heart." She was a rich woman belonging to the better class of the old-time Southern people. Some of her kinsfolk were members of my church, which brought about the correspondence. The letter showed how very difficult it is for one in social life to keep from doing many things hurtful to Christian character and influence. So this report from Titus showed that many Corinthians had crippled their influence by social entanglements.

His report further showed that while the minority of the church accepted and acted upon Paul’s letter, yet the spirit of debate, strife, envy, and jealousy was rife. Thirty-five years after Paul is dead, when Clement writes his first letter to this same church, we find that while they have followed Paul’s commandments in nearly everything, still there remained that spirit of debate. While not inspired, Clement’s letter is one of the very best in church history. That was not pleasing news, but Titus had some much more unpleasant news, to wit: There was an incorrigible minority in the church who denounced Paul for writing instead of coming to them, saying that he kept promising, but did not keep his word; instead of coming he sends a letter, which was very weighty indeed, but he knew that in bodily presence he was weak and his speech was contemptible, and so he got out of his promise by writing a letter. They still questioned his apostolic authority, saying that he had never seen the Lord in the flesh, and was not one of the original twelve; that the fact that he worked for his living instead of demanding apostolic support showed that he was conscious of the weakness of his apostolic claim’ that he did not demand a support for himself and wife as Peter and others did; that he did not have the true gospel which was taught by James and Peter. On ’account of this mixed news we have a mixed letter, just about as mixed a letter as was ever written.

In general terms this letter is divided into three parts. 2 Corinthians 1-7, roughly speaking, are devoted to a discussion of Paul’s ministry and its methods. 2 Corinthians 8-9 are devoted to the great collection which he is still urging to be completed. 2 Corinthians 10-13 are devoted to meeting the criticisms of the incorrigible minority. There is a vast number of subdivisions. In these last chapters he is fighting a battle, not for his own life, but for the very life of the gospel itself. Those last chapters are very stern. They disclose a mortal combat.

By whom did Paul send this letter? By Titus, instructing him to finish that collection, and sends with Titus the messenger of the churches who had been chosen to take charge of the collections elsewhere. There is a reference to two of these messengers that has put the world to guessing who they were. These three men go back to Corinth with this letter;

In the character of the letter it is utterly unlike any other in the New Testament. If a window had been opened so that we could look right into Paul’s heart, it would illustrate this letter. It brings out his personality more than any other or all the rest of his writings and speeches. It brings to light the secrets of his history that never would have been known but for this opposition. The picture of the man contained in this letter cannot be filled out in its outlines by any other man that ever lived on the face of the earth. One man, being asked the key word of this letter, said, "affliction." Paul tells of his sufferings and their purpose. Another man said that the key word was "boasting"; he used the word "boasting" about twenty-two times in all the rest of his letters and twenty-nine times in this letter. In other words, he is forced to refer to himself and discuss himself in order to furnish those who befriend him the means to reply to his adversaries. He has to put the weapons into their hands, since they don’t know these things as he knew them.

We are now ready to take up the letter itself. Before I get through with it I will give a more extensive outline. All that I have discussed so far has been under the head of histopical introduction.

The first item of the outline is, the salutation (2 Corinthians 1:1-2): "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints that are in the whole of Achaia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." We have already learned how Paul opens a letter with a salutation, so we pass at once to the thanksgiving (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). It was Paul’s habit, after saluting properly, to express whatever grounds for thanksgiving he had, and just look at this:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comforts; who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound unto us, even so our comfort also aboundeth through Christ. But whether we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or whether we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which worketh in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is steadfast; knowing that, as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the comfort."

He thus prepares the way to discuss the most unparalleled sufferings and afflictions, and then gets his thanksgiving out of them. His thanksgiving is that God so comforts in those afflictions that it enables him to comfort other people in their afflictions. If one were about to write a letter to a far-off friend, and after the salutation he should commence: "I have great reason to be thankful. Yesterday I broke my leg. Day before yesterday my house was burned, and the week before that my horse died, and today I was robbed, and I learned this evening that I am to be sent to jail," it would startle the friend. So a man who can get a thanksgiving out of Paul’s bill of fare has a power of gratitude in him that cannot be exceeded.

I once heard of an old brother from whom one could not get a single doleful statement, no matter what the circumstances were. He would not whine, nor mouth, nor complain. Once, when there did not seem a thing left to him on earth, he got up and said, "Brethren, I am thankful because the only two teeth in my head meet."

Commencing with 2 Corinthians 1:8, Paul begins to refer to some of those sufferings (an account of the same sufferings is given in Acts 19) : "For we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning our affliction which befell us in Asia, that we were weighted down exceedingly, beyond our power, insomuch that we despaired even of life; yea, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raiseth the dead." Couple this with, "If after the manner of men I fought with beasts at Ephesus." This language here, coupled with the language about fighting with beasts, makes me believe that at one time Paul was thrown into the arena, and, as he had once been stoned and accounted for dead, and the brethren came and worked until they brought him back to life, so here he says of God, "Who delivered us out of so great a death, and will deliver; on whom we have set our hope that he will also still deliver us." That is one of the afflictions, and one of his sufferings. He had been sentenced to death. The sentence had been executed. God had delivered him from death, and he believed that God would continue to deliver him.

He continues: "Ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, many thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf." See how he gets his thanksgiving again: "God delivered me, but it came partly through your supplication. You and a great many other people were praying for Paul." So when Peter was put in jail, the church met and prayed for him, and God delivered Peter. Paul thus shows how other people could get comfort out of his sufferings if they would take it. How many people are pessimists! Mr. Ready-to-Halt, Mr. Despondency, Mr. Man-with-the-Blues, the man against whom everything is working, now, if your spiritual liver gets out of order in that direction, I prescribe for you a generous dose of the thankful spirit of Paul.

The next item in the outline is his defense against some accusations that had been made and reported to him by Titus. That is found in verse 13. Some of them had accused Paul of "wire-pulling" by a secret letter. I heard of a preacher once, who, having to go away from his church for about a month, wrote to a leading sister and suggested how she might, unknown to him, get up a big reception on the’ occasion of his return. They accused Paul of working up things by writing a letter of that kind. Here is the way he replied: "For we write no other things unto you than what you read or even acknowledge, and I hope ye will acknowledge unto the end." The letters are all public, and the charge is that they be read to all the church.

In 2 Corinthians 1:15, and on through 2 Corinthians 1 and part of 2 Corinthians 2, he defends himself from the charge of light mindedness and fickleness. Notice what he says in 2 Corinthians 1:17: "When I therefore was thus minded, did I show fickleness?" The charge of fickleness is based upon this, that he had sent word to them from Ephesus that when he went to Macedonia he would come by Corinth first; that he would speedily come; but he had not come; that instead of coming he wrote another letter, and they had charged that the reason that he did not come was on account of his personal presence. He defends himself from that charge of not fulfilling his promise. Let’s see how he does it. The preceding verse states his confidence that he would be their glory, and they would be his glory, in the day of the Lord. Now he says, "In this confidence I was minded to come first unto you [not to go to Macedonia and then come to Corinth, but to come by you on my way to Macedonia], that ye might have a second benefit; and by you to pass into Macedonia, and again from Macedonia to come unto you, and of you to be set forward on my journey unto Judea. When I therefore was thus minded [and had promised accordingly], did I show fickleness? or the things that I purpose, do I purpose according to the flesh, that with me there should be the yea yea, and the nay nay?"

On that expression a great novel of modern times is written, Richard Yea and Nay. The author of that book takes the most heroic character in England and presents him to us first one way and then another, to show that he did not follow out any steadfast line that looked to the good of his country, but merely the present moment of passion or impulse. If the impulse came be would go to Scotland today and declare war on France tomorrow. Paul says, "My purpose was not a flesh purpose, nor following my desires, but it was based upon my then conception of your condition and conditions elsewhere. When conditions changed so that God would be glorified by changing the plan, I changed it. Does that make me fickle? If that change resulted from some fleshly impulse, I would be ’Paul Yea and Nay,’ but the change was brought about solely for the glory of God and the good of those to whom the promises were made."

He now begins to make a bigger defense than that: "But as God is faithful, our word toward you is not yea and nay." In other words, "You say my word is yea and nay. I want to tell you something that is not yea and nay. The gospel I preached to you was not yea and nay gospel."

Dr. E. C. Dargan, then of the Louisville Seminary, preached at the Baptist Convention in Belton in 1892, and he took this theme: "The gospel is not yea and nay, but yea and amen." "For how many soever be the promises of God, in him is the yea; wherefore also through him is the amen, unto the glory of God through us." He treated that subject this way: The gospel of Jesus Christ is not yea and nay; it is one thing. We can rely on it; it is yea and amen, the "yea" in God and the "amen" in us. God tells us that he will say "Amen, amen, amen!" We may get this whole sermon from that one line of thought, and so we may preach a sermon on the subject, "The Gospel is not yea and nay."

QUESTIONS

1. Out of what does the second letter to the Corinthians grow, and who wrote it?

2. When did he write it, and where?

3. What is the occasion of this letter?

4. What is the three favorable items of Titus’ report to Paul concerning the Corinthians?

5. What is the first unfavorable item of Titus’ report, and what illustration from the author’s experience cited?

6. What spirit prevailed in the church at Corinth at this time, according to the report of Titus, ’and what later light of history touching this spirit of the Corinthians?

7. What the third unfavorable item of Titus’ report, and what the points of authority questioned?

8. What, in general terms, is a brief analysis of the book, and what the nature of the latter part of the book?

9. By whom did Paul send this letter, and with what instruction?

10. What is the character of this letter, what two key-words are suggested, and what do you think is the key-word?

11. Quote, from memory, the salutation.

12. What is Paul’s ground of thanksgiving in this letter, and are such thanksgivings common among even Christians? Illustrate.

13. What unparalleled sufferings does Paul describe, and where else do we find an account of the same sufferings?

14. What is the author’s interpretation of 2 Corinthians 1:9-10, and why?

15. What credit does Paul give the Corinthians for his delivery and what parallel in the history of Peter?

16. What is a good prescription for Mr. Ready-to-Halt, Mr. Despondency, and Mr. Man-with-the-Blues?

17. What charge, inferable from 2 Corinthians 1:13, did they bring against Paul and what his defense?

18. What charge, inferable from 2 Corinthians 1:15-17, did they bring against him and how does he answer it?

19. What great novel was written on 2 Corinthians 1:17, and what the purpose of the author of the book?

20. What great sermon cited on 2 Corinthians 1:18-20, and what the import of the sermon?