2 Corinthians Blog 1

Just about every scholar believes that 2 Corinthians was written by Paul. The only part that gets attention with authorship discussion is 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1. Also, 2 Corinthians 7:2 picks up where 6:13 leaves off. Discussions circulate on how many letters of Paul are contained in 2 Corinthians because some scholars believe that it is a single letter while others believe that it is several letters put together. There is also a lot of discussion about the unity of Paul’s 2 Corinthians which adds to the argument that it may be more than one letter. “One supposition is that some of part of 2 Corinthians is really that first letter” (Osiek 2061). According to Craig S. Keener, is an obvious break between chapters in 2 Corinthians between chapter eight and chapter nine (492). 2 Corinthians is thought to have been written around 57 AD.


Paul had gone to Corinth and had probably been publically humiliated (Osiek, 2061). The purpose of 2 Corinthians is Paul’s defense on being an apostle and to regain the reader’s trust and friendship with him (Keener 492). The message of 2 Corinthians seems mostly to be unity among the believers. “The small cracks in the unity of the Corinthian community there were apparent in 1 Corinthians have here widened into large fissures, and the people’s animosity seems aimed no at one another but at Paul” (Osiek, 2061). 2 Corinthians talks about “consolation, reconciliation, [and] theology of weakness” (Osiek, 2061).

There were three groups of verses that stuck out at me during this reading of 2 Corinthians and they are; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 5:14-15; and 5:17-21.

The first verses say “So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but what cannot be seen; for what can be seen in temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal” (NRSV). The only thing worth living for is God and He has not been seen by me and I am assuming that He has not been seen by you either. The most important thing in any Christian’s life is Christ and we live by faith in Him. Believing in Him has a cost and that is setting everything else in live aside. This semester I have learned a lot about what is worth setting aside and what I am struggling with setting aside. For example, I work hard for my grades. I have never received a C or lower on a report card or as a final grade. I have failed quizzes in the past, but not as much as I have this semester. At one point I was seriously failing two classes. At that point in time I felt that I was only going to get a good grade in one class and I held onto that with everything until I could not even focus in that one class! It was not worth it. Once I finally set my grade aside and said, “I don’t care if I get a stupid C or even a D.” I still don’t want to fail, because this school costs a lot compared to the school I transferred from. I have also been dealing with a lot of spiritual issues that have ranged from easy to hard to insanely difficult. In the past I have been quick to blame God and turn away from Him. However, that really isn’t the healthiest way to deal with problems and this semester I have been focused on not turning. Do you know what happened when I did not turn? The problems became harder to deal with. However, these verses were so refreshing because I know that in the long run, turning will end up being the worst decision of my life. I feel like God is so much a part of me that I would die if I left Him. I pray that I continue to feel that way.

The second verse segment says “For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.” Some pretty amazing things happened this week including people simply reminding me of His love for me at the most critical moments. I had my mp3 player on ‘random’ and the right song came on followed by another right song and believe it or not another one! You may not think that this is God, but I would disagree. My mp3 player has over 18 GB of music/sermons/children’s radio programs on it that it had to be God selecting the songs for that time. At the same time that I am going through my journey of life God is also reminding me of others. I love to encourage others and I love that God has given me the desire to speak encouragement to others. The moment you remember that the person sleeping or ‘Facebooking’ during a class lecture is loved by God just as much as you are; it is a little easier to focus on the teacher again.
Lastly, the final segment says “so if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This kind of goes back to the last part of the previous paragraph. Remembering that everyone around you is also loved by God is key. Sometimes people have problems forgiving others who have turned to Christ. While it is understandable to question whether or not they really are saved, it is not right to do so. All have been given the opportunity to be forgiven. This reminds me of a Casting Crowns song called “If we are the Body” which asks the question ‘why aren’t Christians doing what Jesus did?’ The verses of the song talk about somebody who is judged by a body of believers or receives the cold shoulder instead of a greeting upon entering a Church Building. The best part of this part of 2 Corinthians is that when people become Christians they get a ‘clean slate.’ They are not condemned for what they have done in the past.

WORKS CITED
Keener, Craig S. “2 Corinthians,” Pages 491-516 in The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993.

Osiek, Carolyn. “The Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians.” Pages 2061-2062 in The New Interpreter’s Study Bible with the Apocrypha. Edited by Walter J. Harrelson et al. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.