Bible Commentaries
2 Corinthians

THE SECOND LETTER OF PAUL TO THE CORINTHIANS

INTRODUCTION

Who Wrote It?

As with Romans and First Corinthians, there is no question about the writer of this "second" letter to the Corinthians. It be­longs to the unquestioned letters of Paul. As we said at the be­ginning of those other letters, there is no need to tell the story of Paul’s life here. This can be learned from the Book of Acts, or from any Bible dictionary or encyclopedia. As for the character of Paul, this present letter is one of the main sources of our knowledge of the man, as we shall see.

When Was It Written?

This letter or these letters (for it is possible that we have two or more letters combined into one) were evidently written not very long after First Corinthians. If we calculate the date of First Corinthians as A.D. 56-57, then Second Corinthians would be about A.D. 57.

Why Was It Written? and How Many Letters Are
There in Second Corinthians?

These two questions have to be taken up together. Paul had various purposes in writing, that is clear enough. If we conclude that more letters than one have been combined here, then we should say that Paul did not at any one time have all these rea­sons for writing. If we conclude that this is now and has always been only a single letter, then we should say that various parts of the letter were written for various reasons.

Let us go back over what was said about the Corinthian correspondence in introducing First Corinthians and enlarge on it a bit. The church at Corinth had been started by Paul "from scratch." He calls himself the "father" of that church (1 Corinthians 4:15). We cannot say that he loved these Christians more than those he had won for Christ in other cities, but so far as the New Testament shows, he certainly spent more time and thought on this church than on any other. Corinth was his problem church, as readers of First Corinthians realize.

Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth was written to warn against association with immoral "Christians." This letter is re­ferred to in 1 Corinthians 5:9. (Was this letter lost?)

Later on, the Corinthian Christians wrote him a letter, which was definitely lost long since. In answer to that letter, Paul wrote a reply known to us as First Corinthians. If that letter had had the good effect Paul wanted, it might not have been necessary to write again. Paul had enough to do without writing letters, and there always had to be a good reason for his writing at all. However, the trouble at Corinth did not clear up; or, to be more precise, the troublemakers at Corinth did not shut up. So Paul paid the church a personal visit that was not at all pleasant, as we gather from his references to it. On top of that visit, Paul wrote the Corinthians again, "out of much affliction and anguish of heart" as he said in 2 Corinthians 2:4, a letter which made the Corinthians "sorry" and "grieved" (2 Corinthians 7:8). Paul both regretted writing that letter and was glad he had written it (2 Corinthians 7:8-9), glad, because they were "grieved into repenting." (What became of that severe letter?) Paul was so much worried about the possible effects of his letter that he sent Titus as his representative to see how things now stood in Corinth. When Titus came back, he brought such an encouraging report that Paul had to send off another letter full of thankfulness and joy. (Where is that letter?)

It used to be thought, say 300 years ago, that the letter referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:8 was our First Corinthians. Scholars are now practically unanimous in seeing that this could not be the letter Paul mentions, for it does not fit the description at all. It is now agreed on all hands that the letter we call First Corinthians and the "severe letter" were not the same.

There is agreement, then, among many interpreters that the or­der of the letters was (as outlined in the Introduction to First Corinthians):

Paul’s first letter. (Where is it?)

The Corinthians’ letter to Paul. (Lost.)

First Corinthians, by Paul, in answer to their letter.

The severe letter. (Where is it?)

The letter of reconciliation. (Where is it?)

What scholars do not agree on is the answers to the three questions. There are two lines of thought about this. The first is that:

Paul’s first letter is entirely lost.

His severe letter is lost likewise.

The letter of reconciliation is our Second Corinthians entire. The second line of thought is that:

At least a fragment of Paul’s first letter is in 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1.

His severe letter is in II Corinthians, chapters 10-13.

The letter of reconciliation is in II Corinthians, chapters 1-9.

Which view is right? Every intelligent reader is in about as good a position to decide which of these theories is correct as any scholar could be. The arguments sum up about like this:

Those who hold the first line of thought point out:

This is the long-held traditional view.

The oldest existing manuscripts always have our Second Corinthians as one block. There is nothing to indicate a scissors­-and-paste job.

The burden of proof must be on those who would show that Second Corinthians, as we have it, is a combination of two or three letters.

Those who hold to the second line of thought point out:

There are serious breaks in the stream of thought which do indicate a scissors-and-paste job. If the reader will take a careful look at 2 Corinthians 6:13-14, he will see a sudden change of ideas between verses 13 and 14. Verses 14-18 of chapter 6, plus verse 1 of chapter 7, fit together perfectly; but they do not fit smoothly with either 6:13 or 7:2. On the other hand, if 7:2 is read immediately after 6:13, the passage reads smoothly and sensibly.

Furthermore, there is another sharp break between chapters 9 and 10. Everything is lovely, Paul is relaxed and thankful, as chapter 9 ends. All at once the mood shifts. He is right back arguing that he is an Apostle, threatening his opponents, defend­ing himself, obviously worried, warning the Corinthian church.

The problem boils down to this one point, really: Do these breaks in the thought of the letter, at 6:14 and 7:2 and between chapters 9 and 10, indicate that we have here several letters, or parts of letters, put together, or are these breaks no more than can be expected of a somewhat erratic writer like Paul? The reader has the right to judge this point for himself. It should be remembered that this is not a theological point at all, only a literary problem. There is no question of Paul’s authorship, and no point about inspiration is involved. The only question is: Did Paul write all this letter at the same time, or did he write various parts of it at different times?

Your commentator is impressed by the sharpness of these breaks, and thinks the simplest way to account for them is to suppose that the breaks in thought are not due to slips in Paul’s mind or to long interruptions while he was dictating, but are due to the fact that we have three letters from Paul fastened, so to speak, by one paper clip. Properly speaking, then, the best way to read Second Corinthians would be to read chapters 10-13 firs_ and then chapters 1-9. In this commentator’s opinion, 6:14-7:1 is too brief for an entire letter. If it is from another letter it is no more than a paragraph. It does, however, interrupt the thought as a whole. It sounds like a parenthesis stuck in for no special reason, if Paul wrote it as it stands.

One more point: Whatever a reader concludes about the way this "letter" was written, and whether it is a letter or letters, makes no difference at all in the value of the letter for us. The wonderful testimony of Paul’s faith in 5:1-10 is not washed out in the least by supposing either that chapters 10-13 were written before chapter 5 or that they were written after it. Paul’s autobio­graphical notes in chapters 10-13 are just as true and effective whether this is a part of the "severe letter" or not.

Special Features

Two special features of this letter (or these letters) stand out. (Hereafter we shall refer to it as "a letter" for short.)

First, it is a real letter, more of a letter than most of Paul’s that are known to us. This is what really makes Second Corin­thians so hard to read. A letter is dashed off without any outline in mind. The writer just says what comes to his mind, without trying to balance his sentences or weigh all his words. He will allude to people and happenings known to himself and the person or persons to whom he is writing, but not known to all who may be reading over his shoulder. For example: Paul speaks twice in this letter of a possible third visit to Corinth. When was the sec­ond? Acts tells us nothing of it, and of course there is no point in Paul’s telling the Corinthians when it was, or why, because they knew. Again, Paul speaks of a "thorn in the flesh" which caused him suffering. Very likely the Corinthians knew all about this, and did not need the explanation we should like to have. So this letter is not a formal argument, carefully worked out and carried through, like Romans; it is not a series of topics one after the other, like First Corinthians. But for all that it is the most personal and self-revealing of all Paul’s letters, and we may be grateful.

For this is the second special feature: it is the most autobio­graphical of all the letters of Paul. Now there are two kinds of autobiography, one being the kind a small boy away at camp or school writes home: On Sunday we went to church and on Mon­day we had a swimming meet and on Tuesday . . . and so forth. Very dull, especially when grown people try it. Much more in­teresting is the kind of autobiography that tells you something you couldn’t see with the eye or with any camera or recording ma­chine; the kind of autobiography that lets you into the writer’s mind. All Paul’s letters do this more or less, but this one is more intimate, more unreserved, more frank than others. Paul’s weaker points come out here along with his strong ones. Paul was Luke’s hero, and the picture of Paul in Acts is carefully prepared for the Christian public. As Acts tells the story, not a blemish appears in Paul’s character after his conversion and only one possible error in judgment. Here in Second Corinthians we have an unretouched portrait by Paul’s own hand, with features which Paul himself realizes are questionable. But we may admire him all the more for his frankness, and come at last to realize the greatness of this man. For his fight was not only with circumstances and enemies and the Devil; this man triumphed, in Christ, over himself. And this is the greatest conquest.

OUTLINE

Because of the nature of this letter, or letters, we shall not be able to make as satisfactory an outline as can be done for Romans Or First Corinthians. Since the LAYMAN’S BIBLE COMMENTARY deals with every book in the order of the verses as printed in our English Bibles, we shall offer a brief outline on that plan.

Greetings. 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

The God of Comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Paul in Trouble. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Mutual Confidence of Paul and the Corinthians. 2 Corinthians 1:12-14

Christ Is "Yes." 2 Corinthians 1:15-22

Painful Letter Versus Painful Visit. H Corinthians 1:23-2:4 Forgiveness. H Corinthians 2:5-11

Looking for Titus. II Corinthians 2:12-13

The Aroma of Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:14-17

Christians Are Letters from Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:1-3 Old Covenant and New. U Corinthians 3:4-18

The Work of the Ministry. 2 Corinthians 4:1 to 2 Corinthians 6:13

Preaching Christ as Lord (4:1-6)

Treasure in Earthen Vessels (4:7-12)

All for Your Sake (4:13-15)

A Parenthesis on Death (4:16-5:10)

The Ministry of Reconciliation (5:11-6:13)

No Mismating with Unbelievers. 2 Corinthians 6:14 to 2 Corinthians 7:1 Titus Brings Good News. 2 Corinthians 7:2-16

On Christian Giving. 2 Corinthians 8:I-9:15

A Warning to the Disobedient. II Corinthians roa-6

Boasting in the Lord. H Corinthians 1o:7-18

Paul’s Right to Boast: His Sufferings in the Cause. II Corin­thians Im—I2:10

Paul Has Been More Than Fair. H Corinthians 12:n-18 Mend Your Ways, or Else—! H Corinthians 12:19-13:10 Farewell and Benediction. H Corinthians 13:11-14