A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story.
The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding everyday readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pastors, students, Sunday school teachers, and laypeople alike.
Each volume employs three main, easy-to-use sections designed to help readers live out God's story:
LISTEN to the Story: Includes complete NIV text with references to other texts at work in each passage, encouraging the reader to hear it within the Bible's grand story.
EXPLAIN the Story: Explores and illuminates each text as embedded in its canonical and historical setting.
LIVE the Story: Reflects on how each text can be lived today and includes contemporary stories and illustrations to aid preachers, teachers, and students.
—2 Corinthians—
In this letter, we enter into the life of the apostle Paul through his stories: he relates his own near-death experience and hardships, his own version of the story of Moses and the glory of Sinai, and of the generosity of the church at Macedonia. But while Paul's stories are important to his message, he intended them to move the focus off of himself and on to God and His story.
Edited by Scot McKnight and Tremper Longman III, and written by a number of top-notch theologians, The Story of God Bible Commentary series will bring relevant, balanced, and clear-minded theological insight to any biblical education or ministry.
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Yes, you can access 2 Corinthians by Judith A. Diehl, Scot McKnight in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Theology & Religion & Biblical Criticism & Interpretation. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God in Corinth, together with all his holy people throughout Achaia: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. 6If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. 7And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.
8We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. 10He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, 11as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.
Listening to the Text in the Story: Psalm 23:4; 71:21; 119:50, 52, 76, 82; Lamentations 3:19–25; 1 Corinthians 16:10–11, 13.
“Comfort ye, O comfort my people,” says your God.
—Isaiah 40:1 NASB
“Praying with Eyes Open”
Blessed are those who mourn
Flash floods of tears, torrents of them,
Erode cruel canyons, exposing
Long forgotten strata of life
Laid down in the peaceful decades:
A badlands beauty. The same sun
That decorates each day with colors
From arroyos and mesas, also shows
Every old scar and cut of lament.
Weeping washes the wounds clean
And leaves them to heal, which always
Takes an age or two. No pain
Is ugly in the past tense. Under
The Mercy every hurt is a fossil
Link in the great chain of becoming.
Pick and shovel prayers often
Turn them up in the valleys of death.
—Eugene Peterson1
Have you ever received a bad letter? Perhaps you were jilted by an ex-spouse in the form of a letter. Maybe you received a letter of termination by mail from a former employer, or were turned down for a desired position, and you wanted to tear it into pieces. Somehow bad news in the form of a letter is even worse than a verbal offense. On the other hand, perhaps you have had to write a merciless letter when you really did not want to. It was your duty to fire an employee or to reject a manuscript; it was imperative to quit a job or to end a relationship. Certainly, it can be very difficult to put into words the emotions and the hard decisions that erupt on paper. Either way, hard letters are painful to read and to write.
During World War II, many American soldiers were sent overseas for duty, assigned to a post across the ocean for months or even years. As time passed, the wives and girlfriends of the GIs who remained back home changed their minds, moved in a new direction, and found someone new. She could not wait for the old boyfriend to return and found someone who was much closer to her in every way. So began the “Dear John” letters, sent from the girls left behind to the soldiers sent abroad. The exact origin of that phrase is lost to history, but the infamous letter was a painful reminder that relationships, especially long-distance ones, are so fragile. Perhaps the love of his life was gone; perhaps this marriage was to end in divorce. Not only did he have to endure fatigue, combat, and dangerous situations, but then the soldier was informed that no one was supporting him with her love anymore. Instead of affectionate words of longing and love, the “Dear John” letter was torture for the recipient.
In much the same way, Paul discovered that it was difficult to write hard letters to the very people he loved and to whom he ministered. Regrettably, the letter we know as 2 Corinthians gives us only hints about a previous “tearful letter” (2:3–4) he was compelled to write, as well as a “painful visit” by Paul to the congregation (2:1). From the start, this letter is emotionally charged as Paul pours out his feelings, opening his letter with troubles and distress, sufferings and endurance. It may be quite the opposite of a “Dear John” letter, but Paul was just as emotional in this epistle.
Everyone experiences human pain and trials, often even to the point of depression and despair. Then, we see miserable human conditions across the globe, much worse than our own, and we must repent of our whining and self-centeredness. In comparison to the plight of other Christians who are persecuted for their faith, or victims of powerful weather storms, corrupt governments, hunger, oppression, diseases, and neglect, I know that I have it rather easy. By nature, it seems that human beings question the presence of pain and suffering in our lives; we avoid it at all costs. We question the care and love of God. Why is there so much suffering in the world? Why do we have to suffer? As we listen to this text, we must hear the voice of Paul loud and clear saying that maybe we need a different view of suffering, trials, and troubles. We need to be reminded of the significance of trials and weakness, as well as the source of great comfort, salvation, endurance, and hope.
EXPLAIN the Story
The opening section of Paul’s letter, 1:1–11, sets the tone and establishes the themes that will follow in this complicated letter. The congregation at Corinth was calling his apostolic authority into question, so Paul needed to set the record straight about his mission, his message, and his own character. Oddly, it was the suffering that Paul experienced that validated his divine calling. This is peculiar even for today’s readers, who are surprised that Paul’s authority and qualifications for ministry are validated through his suffering! Even so, Paul’s opponents no doubt used the sufferings against Paul, assuming that one correctly called by God would not suffer so many “perils” in ministry. As Garland writes,
How does he prove that he does not make his own decisions according to the self-centered wisdom of this world, but that he always has their best interests at heart? How does he defend his sufficiency as Christ’s apostle when he appears to be so weak and afflicted? How does he change their attitudes toward his afflictions and suffering as an apostle?2
While God called Paul to a ministry that included suffering, God also sustained Paul and ultimately delivered him from key trials. The power of God is perceived in the comfort of God. In fact, Paul learned to rely on God through his perils, knowing that the God who resurrected Jesus Christ would surely uphold Paul and his ministry colleagues in doing what God had called them to do. Thus, through his accounts of danger and troubles, the church can see Paul’s faithfulness in the face of adversity and can be encouraged by Paul’s unfailing gratitude toward a merciful, powerful God. The people in Corinth were privileging their own opinions and the accusations of other people over Paul and his authority.
Salutation and Personal Greeting (1:1–2)
Similar to the greeting Paul wrote to the church in his previous canonical letter (1 Cor 1:1–3), Paul begins this letter with a description of himself, recognition of who the readers are, and a brief blessing. Certainly, it was not unusual for Paul to open a letter with a reference to his apostleship (i.e., Rom 1:1; Eph 1:1; Col 1:1), but this is especially vital as a reminder to the readers in this letter. His whole identity, of course, was based on the “will of God” (2 Cor 1:1). Under the direction of God, and not by his own accord, Paul was “an apostle of Jesus Christ.” Paul made a special point of referring to himself as an “apostle,” which is, literally, “one sent forth.” This is a special commissioning, by Christ himself, and is the very basic issue in conflict between Paul and the Corinthians. Was Paul really qualified and authorized to be an “apostle”? Obviously, from the second word of the letter (in Greek), Paul was confident that he was “sent forth” from God, and he was about to prove this to his Corinthian audience.
As readers today, we can see that the first seven chapters of this letter are a description and a defense of his apostolic ministry: called, commanded, and confirmed by God through Christ. As we move through this dense letter, he begins by describing himself and his transparency before the readers. Then, we can observe Paul’s consistent, unswerving defense of his ministry in the face of human opposition and disagreement: he perceived no distinction between himself and “the Twelve” disciples found in the Gospels (i.e., John 6:67, 70), and he demonstrated that he fulfilled all the requirements to be an apostle (i.e., 2 Cor 12:12).
However, the unusual (even ironic) tactic used by Paul to bring to light his unique identity and his apostolic defense was his humility. The unusual characteristic about this letter is that Paul does not “blow his own horn” or chastise the church in order to endorse and promote himself, even when he was rebuked and criticized by others. Rather, he stood in the shadow of the cross of Christ. He affirmed God’s power and authority, as demonstrated through the life and ministry of a fallible, weak, and only too human Paul.
A witness to Paul’s commission and his authority, his brother in Christ, Timothy, is mentioned as a fellow worker and co-missionary with Paul (1:1; see Acts 18:5; 1 Th 1:1; 2 Th 1:1; Phil 1:1). Timothy was from Lystra, a city in the area of Galatia, through which Paul had traveled on his first missionary journey (see Acts 14:8–21; 16:1–5). As a young man, Timothy traveled across the ancient Near East and Greece with Paul, planting churches and taking the gospel message to people throughout the Mediterranean region. His name here may imply that Timothy was a co-sender of the letter with Paul; in any event, we can assume that Timothy was an envoy from Paul to many of the churches in the area: Philippi (Phil 2:19), Thessalonica (1 Thess 3:2), and in Macedonia (Acts 19:22). As such an important part of Paul’s ministry, we suspect that Timothy also shared in Paul’s trials, sufferings, and opposition. No doubt the congregation in Corinth knew Timothy well, as he was sent by Paul earlier to settle some problematic issues in Corinth (Acts 18:5; 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10–11).3 In addition, in this letter Paul considered Timothy a “brother” in the ministry, implying an equality of position, something beyond a master and a student relationship. Paul may have used this word intentionally to enhance Timothy’s influence in the church; that is, an association with Paul lent more credibility in the eyes of the readers.4 All of this is evidence that Paul never failed to show his love for his fellow missionaries and always encouraged the congregations to warmly accept his co-workers when they were sent to visit (1 Cor 4:17; 2 Cor 7:6–7).
Further, the people receiving this letter are converted Christians, or “saints,” “those who have been set apart” as “God’s people” (1:1; see Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2). The “church of God” was the house church, or a community of believers in Corinth, where primarily Gentile (Greek and Roman) Christians met together. This community was started by Paul on his second missionary journey, perhaps around AD 50–51. At t...
