Author and
Date
Second
Corinthians begins by identifying the author as Paul (1:1, 2:1). The style of
the letter confirms Paul's authorship, a does the testimony of the early
church. Some critics theorize that chapters 10-13 were not part of the original
letter because the tone is different from chapters 1-9. The spirit of the first
nine chapters is joyful and jubilant, while the spirit of the last four is one
of sorrow and severity. Many of these
critics claim that chapters 10-13 are part of a lost letter referred to in 2:4.
However, the final chapters of Second Corinthians are firm, not
"sorrowful." Moreover, no early manuscript or author can be cited to
support such a theory. The difference in tone can be accounted for by the
change of subject. in those chapters.
Paul wrote
First Corinthians during the last year of his ministry at Ephesus, on his third missionary journey,
probably in early spring of A.D. 56. Second Corinthians was written shortly
after First Corinthians. Thus the date of Second Corinthians is probably the
fall of A.D 56.
Occasion
In order to
understand the purpose of Second Corinthians one must know about the background
to the letter, that is, what had occurred between the writing of First
Corinthians and this letter. Reconstructing that background, however, is
complicated.
The issues
are: (1) How many visits did Paul make to Corinth before he wrote Second Corinthians
(2:1, 12:14)? (2) How many letters had he written (2:3, 4, 9; 7:18)? (3) Who was "the
offender" (2:5; 7:12)? There are two basic ways of
reconstructing life and letters of Paul to explain these references. The
traditional view takes the references in Second Corinthians to a previous
letter to refer to First Corinthians. In this case the "offender" is
the incestuous person of 1 Corinthians 5. A more recent interpretation contends
that the data in Second Corinthians does not fit First Corinthians; therefore,
the must have been another letter written by Paul to Corinth between First and Second
Corinthians. Either that letter was lost, or else it is chapters 10-13 of
Second Corinthians. Those holding this theory usually maintain that Paul must
have visited Corinth briefly between the writing of
First and Second Corinthians, based on the word "again" in 2:1. This
is sometimes called the "painful visit." According to this view, the
"offender" was not incestuous person of 1 Corinthians 5, but the
leader of a party opposed to Paul.
The
traditional view contends that the data of Second Corinthians does fit the
facts of First Corinthians. Therefore the "previous letter" is First
Corinthians and "the offender" is the incestuous offender. According
to this view, there was "no painful visit," for the word
"again" in 2:1 does not necessarily mean that Paul made a visit
between writing First and Second Corinthians. It simply means he did not want
to return "in sorrow." The reference in 12:14 and 13:1,2 to a
"third time" does not mean Paul was coming for his third time; it
simply means that he was "ready" to come for a third time. He had
planned to come (1 Corinthians 16:5-9), evidently was ready to come (12:14), and then did not actually make
the trip (1:15-17, 23).
Thus the
background of Second Corinthians may be pieced together as follows: Paul
founded the Corinthian church (Acts 18:1-17; 1 Cor. 3:6, 10). After eighteen
months he departed from Corinth and wrote a letter which is how
lost (see 1 Cor. 5:9). Paul then talked to some members of Chloe's household
about quarrels in the Corinthian church ( 1 Cor. 1:11). Perhaps, at this point, Paul sent
Timothy on a trip that included Corinth (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10). Then a committee arrived from Corinth with questions for Paul (1 Cor. 7:1,
16:7). Then Paul wrote the book now called First Corinthians to correct
disorders and answer questions from the Corinthian church. Paul probably sent
Titus to Corinth with First Corinthians. After sending him, Paul became deeply
concerned about how the Corinthians would respond to whathe4 had written. He
had called the carnal (1 Cor. 3:1) and proud (1 Cor. 4:18). In the meantime, serious
difficulties arose at Ephesus, so he left ahead of schedule (see
Acts 20:1). He stopped at Troas to preach the gospel (2:12). But because he did not find Titus
there and was still eager to hear about the Corinthians, he hastened to Macedonia (2:13) There Paul found Titus. According
to an early tradition, Paul wrote Second Corinthians from Philippi.
Purpose
In First
Corinthians, Paul had instructed the believers in Corinth to discipline an incestuous member
(see 1 Cor. 5), and to take a collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem ( 1 Cor. 16:1-4). Titus gave Paul a
report that was on the whole encouraging (2:14; 75-7). The Corinthians had
responded properly to First Corinthians. They had faithfully carried out the
discipline necessary (2:5-11). But Titus also informed Paul about the presence
of "false apostles (11:13) who accused Paul of walking according
to the flesh (1:12; 17; 10:2), being deceitful (2:17; 4:2; 12:16), intimidating the church with his
letters (10:9, 10), unjustly mistreating someone to the point of ruining that
person (7:2), and defrauding people (7:2). These false teachers probably
pointed out that Paul had not returned as he promised, and used this as
evidence for his duplicity (1:15-17, 23, 24). They even tempted to
discredit Paul by charging that he was raising money to enrich himself (7:2; 8:16-23). Inevitably these accusation
raised doubts in the minds of the Corinthians about the integrity of the apostle
Paul.
Paul wrote
second Corinthians out of his concern for the Corinthian church (7:12). He wanted to offer the church
some further instructions concerning the repentant offender (2:5-11) as well as
about the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem (9:1-5). However, Paul's main
purpose for writing Second Corinthians was to defend his ministry. Paul's
opponents in Corinth had severely attacked him. He wrote
this letter to prove that his ministry was sincere and genuine, to reassert his
authority as an apostle of Christ.
Theology
Second
Corinthians is primarily a personal letter, defending Paul's ministry among the
Corinthians and appealing to the factions in the church to reconcile themselves
to each other. Yet Paul still uses doctrine to address the church's problems. He
speaks of the foundational doctrines of the Christian faith: The Trinity (1:21, 22; 13:14), as well as the deity (1:12, 19; 4:5), humanity (8:9), death (5:19, 21) and resurrection of Christ (5:15). Paul reaffirms that all believers
have been sealed by the Holy Spirit (1:2) and have been given the Spirit as a deposit
(1:22; 5:5). The believing Corinthians are in Christ (5:7) and
Christ in them (13:3,4). They will be resurrected (4:14; 5:1-8) and evaluated at the judgment
seat of Christ (5:10), where they will either be ashamed (5:3) or rewarded (5:9,
10). Paul points out that part of the reason for the Corinthians' difficulties
and divisions was Satan's opposition to the church. He blinds unbelievers to
the truth (4:4) and uses every opportunity to divide the believers (2:11). That is why Paul exhorts the
Corinthians to lead holy lives, to repent of the sins of the past, and to be
reconciled to each other. Thus in this personal letter defending his ministry
and authority, Paul still weaves doctrine into that fabric of his discussion.
For Paul, the essence of Christian faith touched on every facet of life, not
only divisions and controversies like those that disturbed the Corinthian
church.