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by Katie Erickson

Paul, 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:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Last week, we finished going through 1 Corinthians, so the logical next step is to begin taking a look at 2 Corinthians. But before we get there, what has transpired for the Corinthian church between these two letters? While we don’t know a lot of details, scholars have some general ideas of what may have transpired.

In 1 Corinthians, Paul addressed many issues that were occurring in the church at Corinth. It’s likely that the Corinthians fixed some of these issues before 2 Corinthians, as we don’t see Paul bringing them up again. For example, we do not see anything in this second letter regarding practicing the Lord’s supper or about lawsuits among believers.

But, even though they may have made some issues better, others got worse. Paul did not want to make another “painful visit” to them (2 Corinthians 2:1), but he did end up visiting them again (2 Corinthians 12:14, 13:1-2). An in-person visit from Paul would provide them with much more specific instructions to correct their ways than a letter could.

Paul sent Titus from Ephesus to Corinth with a severe letter for them. We do not have the contents of this letter available to us, but we know it existed at one time due to the references to it in Scripture. Paul and Titus were to meet in Troas, but Titus did not show up there, so they ended up meeting in Macedonia instead. After leaving Ephesus after the riot (Acts 19:23-20:1), Paul spread the gospel in Troas, did not see Titus there, and then traveled to Macedonia (2 Corinthians 2:12-13). Paul and Titus met up in Macedonia, and Titus shared his report of the Corinthians being responsive to the severe letter (2 Corinthians 7:5-16).

Paul worked in Macedonia for a while, and after he heard about additional problems at the church in Corinth, he wrote 2 Corinthians to them. The authorship of this letter is rarely disputed, given that Paul calls himself the author twice (2 Corinthians 1:1 and 10:1). Writings of other early church fathers outside of the Bible also quote this letter, including Polycarp, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian. It is likely that while Paul spent a few months in Greece (Acts 20:2-3), likely in Corinth, he wrote Romans.

This letter of 2 Corinthians was likely written at least a year and a half after 1 Corinthians. Scholars give a probable timeline of 1 Corinthians being written in the spring of AD 55, Paul having his “painful visit” to Corinth that summer, writing the “severe letter” (that we don’t have) in the spring of AD 56, Paul and Titus arriving in Macedonia during the summer of AD 56, and then Paul writing 2 Corinthians in the fall of AD 56.

The letter is divided into three major sections: Paul discussing his apostolic ministry (chapters 1-7), discussing generosity specifically for the saints at Jerusalem (chapters 8-9), and more about being an apostle and Paul’s travel plans (chapters 10-13). Some of the key themes in the book can be seen in words or phrases that are often repeated, including comfort, affliction, and joy.

This greeting at the start of the letter is consistent with what Paul would typically write. He calls himself “an apostle” (2 Corinthians 1:1) of Jesus even though he was not one of the twelve who walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry. Paul considered himself equal to the twelve because of the special revelation he received from Jesus during his conversion to the faith.

Paul mentions Timothy during this greeting, which is significant for the Corinthians. Timothy was supposed to be Paul’s representative in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:17, 16:10-11), but it appears that Titus had replaced Timothy in that position by the time 2 Corinthians was written. It is possible that Timothy did not have great success in working with the church at Corinth, hence the change in personnel.

Paul promotes unity between this church and others in verse 1, specifically calling out the province of Achaia, which contained multiple churches. This congregation was just part of the church that God was building in that region, and Paul makes sure that they know there are others who are part of God’s “holy people” in that area.

Paul’s characteristic greeting in verse 2 combines both the traditional Greek greeting (chairein, which became charis, “grace”) and the traditional Hebrew greeting (shalom, or “peace”). This further should bring unity among the people who were from different traditions.

As we journey through this letter from Paul to the first-century church at Corinth, I believe that we will see that its themes and instructions are still relevant to us as twenty-first-century believers.

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