2 Corinthians
What was happening in the Church when this
Epistle was written?
The book of 2 Corinthians was written by the
apostle Paul in approximately 55 AD. It
was written to the church in Corinth in order to restore unity among the
believers and to defend Paul’s authority as an apostle and a leader. 2 Corinthians 1:1 states, “This letter is
from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from
our brother Timothy. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth and to all of his
holy people throughout Greece.” At the
time, the church in Corinth was experiencing a lot of inner strife. However, Paul thanked them for praying for
him (see 2 Corinthians 1:11). He also commended
them by saying, “The only letter of recommendation we need is you
yourselves. Your lives are a letter
written on our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among
you. Clearly, you are a letter from
Christ showing the result of our ministry among you” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). There were people in the church who were
attacking Paul and his ministry; therefore, he defended himself. For example, Paul wrote, “Look at the obvious
facts. Those who say they belong to
Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. I may seem to be boasting too much about the
authority given to us by the LORD. But
our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my
authority” (see 2 Corinthians 10:7-8). From
a human standpoint, Paul had every reason to boast about himself and his accomplishments;
however, Paul chose not to do so.
Instead, he chose to boast about his weaknesses in order to bring honor
and glory to the LORD (see 2 Corinthians 11:22-31). There were some in the church who had not
given up their old sinful lifestyle; therefore, Paul wrote, “I am afraid that I
will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance,
and disorderly behavior. . . And I will be grieved because many of you have not
given up your old sins. You have not
repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful
pleasures” (see 2 Corinthians 12:20-21).
Paul addressed the inner strife and dissension within the church. He also defended his role as an apostle and a
leader. Paul confronted false
teaching by presenting them with the truth - God's truth.
Overall, many in the church of Corinth had repented of their old sinful
lifestyle; however, there were still some who had not and these people were the
ones who were causing a lot of problems for Paul and the church in
Corinth.
Main Ideas of this Epistle
All of us will be judged by God for how we live
our lives; therefore, we ought to live our lives in a manner that pleases
God. “We live by believing and not by
seeing . . . our goal is to please him.
For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for
the good or evil we have done in this earthly body” (see 2 Corinthians 5:7-10).
Christ died for our sins and has given us a new life; therefore, we ought to
live our new lives for Him. “Since we
believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our
life. He died for everyone so that those
who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died
and was raised for them. So we have
stopped evaluating ourselves from a human point of view . . . anyone who
belongs to Christ has become a new person.
The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift
from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this
task of reconciling people to him” (see 2 Corinthians 14-18). God has given us this great gift and we are
now reconciled with God. God desires us
to tell others about this great gift so that they too may be reconciled with
God. Paul makes it clear that Jesus
Christ is LORD and we are His servants; we are to boast in Him rather than in
ourselves. Paul states, “We can say with
confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness
and sincerity in all our dealings. We
have depended on God’s grace, not on our human wisdom (see 2 Corinthians 1:12).
Paul preaches that Jesus Christ is LORD and we are his servants rather than
preaching about themselves (see 2 Corinthians 4:5). Paul suffered many things in order to share
Christ (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-12). “For all of God’s promises have been
fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’
And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for
his glory. It is God who enables us, along
with you, to stand firm for Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 1:20-21). We are to see God and reflect His glory. We are to become more and more like Him. “But
whenever someone turns to the LORD, the veil is taken away. For the LORD is the Spirit, and wherever the
Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom.
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the
glory of the LORD. And the LORD – who is
the Spirit – makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his
glorious image” (2 Corinthians 16-18). We
are to live lives that bring honor and glory to God. For example, Paul stated, “We live in such a
way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our
ministry” (2 Corinthians 6:3). He added
that, “We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority,
knowing that God is watching us” (2 Corinthians 2:17). In order words, he does not preach for
personal profit. Paul wrote, “We are
careful to be honorable before the LORD, but we want everyone else to see we
are honorable” (see 2 Corinthians 8:20). We are to live our lives in a manner that truly brings honor and glory to God.
Character and Nature of God in this Epistle
God is merciful.
Paul writes, “God in his mercy has given us this new way” (see 2
Corinthians 4:1). God is full of
grace. “And as God’s grace reaches more
and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more
and more glory” (see 2 Corinthians 4:15).
God’s grace is sufficient. The
LORD told Paul three different times, “My grace is all you need. My power works
best in weakness” when Paul begged the LORD to take away a thorn in his flesh
(2 Corinthians 12:9). God desires His people to live their lives in a manner
that is pleasing to Him and God equips His people to do so. God desires His people to reflect His glory
and become more and more like Him. God
desires true freedom for His people for where the Spirit of the LORD is, there
is freedom. God desires unity among His
people. God desires His people to know
the truth and to live the truth - God's truth. God
desires His people to give up their old, sinful lifestyles and live their new
lives in Christ for Him and for His honor and glory.
Personal Application
As believers, we are children of God.
Our Father desires us, His children, to be like Him. He desires us to live our lives in such a way
that truly bring Him the honor and the glory He deserves. God knows how to raise His children to become
more and more like Him. God reminds us
in 2 Corinthians that His grace is sufficient.
Sometimes, we try to live our lives (apart from God and others);
however, we eventually realize that we really cannot do so. God has designed us in such a way that we
truly need God and we truly need each other.
We simply cannot live our lives on our own. During this particular season in my life, God
has been teaching me many things. For
example, God has been teaching me (again!) that I truly need God AND I truly need
other people. God has also been teaching
me (again!) that His grace is sufficient.
Over the past several months, I have often (though not always!) found
myself feeling very helpless.
During my times of extreme pain and/or extreme weakness, it has been incredibly difficult
for me to do the things I need to do. Further,
it has been very difficult for me to simply enjoy the things I typically enjoy
doing. I clearly recognize that I have
been engaged in a great deal of spiritual warfare with the enemy. However, I also clearly recognize God’s hand
at work in my life. These times of extreme
weakness and/or extreme pain have left me feeling very helpless. I have been forced to rely more and more on God. I have been forced to rely more and more
on others as well. I sense now more than ever just
how much I truly need God and I truly need others. Time and time and time again, God has told me that His grace is sufficient.
For example, God tells us clearly in His Word that we, His children, are
“to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love others as
ourselves.” Furthermore, His Word tells us that God equips His
children to do His will. God says this to us even though we, His children (like myself), may sometimes feel like we simply
cannot do His will. God equips His children to do
His will even when they are feeling very weak, experiencing a lot of pain, and/or feeling very helpless. Further, God desires His children to boast in
Him rather than in themselves. We are to
sing His praises! Admittedly, the past
few months have been very challenging for me in many ways. However, God is teaching me and reminding me
of some very valuable lessons which are helping me to become more and more like
Him. I am so very grateful that God is
my Father and I am His son. My personal
application for the book of 2 Corinthians is to simply believe God when He says
that His grace is sufficient because His Word says that His grace is
sufficient. I choose to believe God when
He says He will equip me to do His will whether I feel like I can do His will
or not because God said He will equip me to do His will. I choose to boast in God and
sing His praises rather than boast in myself because God said we are to boast in God and sing His praises rather than ourselves.
I choose to live my life in such a way as to bring honor and glory to my
Father. I choose to love God with all my
heart, soul, mind, and strength and I choose to love others as myself.
Point of Passion
My point of passion is to know God and to make Him known – especially among
teenagers and young adults. According to
God’s Word, God’s grace is sufficient. I desire to pass along this valuable
lesson to others. According to God’s
Word, we are to boast in God rather than in ourselves. I desire to pass along this valuable lesson
to others. According to God’s Word, God
will equip us to do His will. I desire
to pass along this valuable lesson to others.
God clearly states that we are to love God with all our heart, soul,
mind, and strength and to love others as ourselves. God will equip us to do His will. His grace is sufficient!
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