2 Corinthians 1: Better Late Than Never

Many people consider 2 Corinthians to be Paul’s most personal and emotional letter(s). Now I say “letter(s)” because there is the possibility that 2 Corinthians represents two separate letters, commonly referred to as Letter D—chapters 1-9—and Letter E—chapters 10-13, due to the sudden development of a noticeably strained relationship between Paul and the Corinthians after the appearance of certain outsiders. This shift only make sense—scholars argue—if some time has passed between chapters nine and ten. I’ll let you be the judge when we get there. If this is the case, it means that at least four or, possibly, five letters have been exchanged between Paul and the Corinthians. So, maybe that’s a church we should be paying closer attention to. 

Paul’s first letter to Corinth, Letter A, is lost; perhaps it will be discovered someday. 1 Corinthians represents Letter B and was written from Ephesus, as was Letter C or E, the “harsh letter” (2 Cor 2:4). It was sent to them via Titus, quite possibly. Afterward, when Paul meets Titus in Macedonia the apostle is met with good news from his padawan: The Corinthians had amended their ways. In response, Paul pens 2 Corinthians and has it sent to them. In it, he justifies the change he made concerning an announced future visit to the church he made in 1 Corinthians 16: a visit that did not occur. Interestingly, some scholars theorize that Paul may have made a short, impromptu trip to the church while he was living in Ephesus, during which he was attacked by someone in the church and had received no aid from its others members—thus providing the reason for his “harsh letter.” And don’t worry, we’ll revisit this timeline when we get to chapter two. 

As usual, please forgive any typos. 

 
Chapter One  (CSB)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To the church of God at Corinth, with all the saints who are throughout Achaia. 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul says hello. His greeting does remind us, however, that we are all one in the Lord. He and Timothy are greeting the Corinthian church not only on for themselves alone but on behalf of “all the saints who are throughout Achaia.” Maybe this is something that we need to remember here in America in the twenty-first century, that we are all one in the Lord. I admit that I am guilty of drawing distinctions from time-to-time, but this practice is likely contributing to the Church’s decline in our communities. 

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

We see clearly here a pastoral emphasis in this letter. “God…the Father of mercies and…all comfort,” this is how Paul describes God’s character. Of course, there are other descriptions of the divine character—and these, too, cannot be ignored—but oft times I fear that we Western Christians living in our highly politicized and divisive society forget to “read the room”. We end up choosing the wrong face for the wrong emotion. Paul is trying to mend fences with the Corinthians and heal the hurt that has occurred between them. 

He reminds the church that God “comforts us in our affliction” for a specific purpose: “so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction”. I have believed for some time that the primary reason why the Church is struggling so much in our world today, why there is apparently unmendable division in the Body of Christ today is not doctrinal disagreement—notice that I gave the caveat of “primary”—but is the lack of empathy and compassion. We have allowed our cultural differences to impact, shape, and direct the Church that we have received from Christ. 

The comfort that we have received from God, we have reserved it for ourselves and our friends rather than utilize it for the purpose that God has given it. Patrick’s rule of ministry number two, “There is infinite grace for one’s own sin and swift and sure condemnation for another’s.” We would rather prove a point or justify a decision or “be on the right side of history” than “to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction.”

 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 6 If we are afflicted, 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 that we suffer. 7 And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will also share in the comfort.

Is this not Paul’s way of expressing Jesus’s command to take up our crosses and follow Him? “For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” Here is an unpopular and avoided fact of faith, one that none of us want to hear: to have faith in Christ is to have suffering. In His daily interactions with others during His earthly ministry, does Jesus once condemn a sinner, or to be specific dies Jesus ever condemn a person who the religious of his day has labeled “sinner”? Does He excuse that person’s sin or redefine it to be no sin? Does His willing self-sacrifice free that sinner from the penalty sin? And does His resurrection offer to that person a life transformed by grace and love? To be faithful means to be willing to die for your enemies. I don’t think I can put more succinctly.

Paul tells the Corinthians that as he suffers for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ, he also receives comfort and salvation from Christ to share with them. The Corinthians, in turn, will receive comfort as they, too, suffer for the sake of the gospel. Paul mentions a recent, personal experience to illustrate this teaching.

8 We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, so that we would not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 10 He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and he will deliver us. We have put our hope in him that he will deliver us again 11 while you join in helping us by your prayers. 

Although the Corinthians are not made privy to any specifics, that hasn’t stopped Christians from trying to discover them: In 1 Corinthians 15:32 Paul mentions that he had fought wild beasts, or in Acts 19:23-40 we learn of the apostle’s involvement in the riot at Ephesus. The truth is, if the details were important, I’m convinced that he would have provided them. As Paul chose to inform the Corinthians of sufferings, who can’t relate to being “completely overwhelmed” with affliction in those times in life when a righteous choice has led to our suffering? Wild animals and riots are details that could hinder empathy. 

In this moment, Paul says in verse nine, he was convinced of the certainty of death; he was powerless to avert it. Yet this was that he might not have anywhere ...