You may remember that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus early in AD 57 during his third missionary journey, about 5 years after he had established the church in Corinth. The account of his tumultuous stay in Ephesus is found in Acts 19. This is Acts 20:1, “After the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples, embraced them and set out for Macedonia.”
Now, we’ve already looked at some of the things he wrote in this first letter. Most of them were corrective in nature in response to the report he had received regarding the church (1 Corinthians 1:11, 16:17). And when Paul gets to Macedonia, he writes a second letter to this church later that same year. I believe the reason Paul writes this second letter so soon after the first is the fact that there were some things that still bothered him that he had not addressed in the first letter.
There are several subjects that can easily be identified as you read through this letter. Paul talks about the characteristics of his ministry that proved it to be a genuine Christ-like endeavor. He gives some instruction regarding benevolence and giving. And, he further addresses false teaching and dissension in the church and warns the disobedient. Also, there is a personal element to this letter not seen in the first, as Paul opens his heart and expresses his tender affection for them.
But there is one subject that runs through this letter from beginning to end. It is evident there was a group in this church that tended to discredit Paul’s ministry and question his authority. This can probably be attributed to two factors: the fleshly, immature nature of these Corinthian converts who had come out of a culture dominated by perverse, idolatrous cults; and the false teachers that followed Paul in an attempt to disrupt his work. So, it is clear that one of Paul’s objectives in writing this letter is the vindication of his apostleship.
There are several places in this letter where Paul seems to defend his apostleship in one way or another. So, in the next couple of lessons, we’ll look at some of them. The first one is found in 2 Corinthians 3:1, however, it’s helpful to start in the verse that precedes it (2:17). “For we are not like so many hucksters, peddling God’s word for profit. Instead, like men of sincerity sent by God, we speak the message of Christ in the very presence of God. Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you or from you?”
This gives us insight into some of the criticism of Paul’s ministry. He had been accused of doing what he did only for the money. And, I can say from personal experience in over 35 years ministry in the institutional church, there is nothing that carnal, immature believers get upset about any more than the issue of money. But this is an especially disingenuous charge here, considering the relationship Paul had with the Corinthian church.
When Paul asks the question above, “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” he’s referring to 1 Corinthians 9:1-19, where he answers the same charge. When you follow this passage, Paul uses the example of common endeavor (if you serve in the army, you expect to get paid; if you plant a vineyard, you have a rightful claim to the fruit; if you tend a flock, you have a right to the milk and meat), the Law of Moses (you don’t muzzle the ox, when it is treading out the corn, the priests serving in the temple get their living from the offerings brought there, etc.) and the teaching of Jesus, Who said those who preach the Gospel should get their living from those who benefit from it.
And in verse 15 of this passage Paul makes it clear he never made any demands for what should have been rightfully his. Instead, he worked in the tent making trade to support himself while he was in Corinth. That’s what makes this accusation so false, and what exposes the immaturity of at least some of these Corinthians. He goes on to explain that if preaching the gospel was his idea of a way to make a living, then he would expect to get paid. But, it was not his idea; it was something God had entrusted to him. So, if the church didn’t support him, what did he get out of it? He then explains it was the pleasure of offering it at no expense, which made him free from the demands or expectations of others.
Now, let’s go back to what Paul says about letters of recommendation in 3:1. This is a reference to the false teachers who would follow him in an attempt to disrupt the churches he established by insisting they combine the old with the new (we will examine this in more detail when we get to Paul’s letter to the Galatian church). But for now just to be clear, these men usually carried letters from the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem attesting to the validity of their (false) teaching.
But Paul explains in 3:2-3 that the believers themselves were his letter of recommendation, “written on our hearts, known and read by all, a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of the heart.” This is the true, spiritual letter of recommendation.
Paul defends himself again in 2 Corinthians 5:11-14a. “Since we know what it is to fear the Lord, we persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear in your own discernment. And we are not trying to commend ourselves to you yet again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so you can answer those who take pride in virtues they only pretend to have, though their hearts are void of them. If we seem to be out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for your sake. But, it is the love of Christ that moves me to these extremes.”
So, what’s Paul saying here? He’s not trying to defend himself again; instead, he’s giving these Corinthians an opportunity to defend him to these unscrupulous, false teachers who are trying to attack his ministry. And Paul again gives some insight into the content of their attack: some of the things Paul says are just crazy; then, on the other hand, some of what he says makes sense – on that basis alone, he’s unstable and can’t be trusted.
The next example is in 2 Corinthians 7:2 where Paul says, “Open your hearts to us. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one.” To understand this we should go back to 6:11-12 where Paul expresses the fact that had had held nothing back in his previous letter to them but his great affection for them was intact; however, their affection for him was now suspect. And, I suspect the criticism, rebukes and even the sarcasm in the first letter opened the door for the false teachers to further discredit him.
When we continue in 7:3-4 Paul assures them he’s not accusing them of anything, he’s already said they have a special place in his heart (3:2), he would live or die with them, he has confidence and pride in them, is encouraged and in spite of their differences he has limitless joy in them.
And as I said earlier, this is one of the more personal letters Paul writes. In the next several verses he opens himself up a little more. First he talks about the exhaustion he felt when he came to Macedonia from the external conflicts (no doubt the opposition he usually encountered) and internal fears (verse 5). We have only to go on to the next verses (6-7) to identify the fears when he says God comforted him when Titus came from Corinth and told him about their response to his first letter – their longing for him, their deep sorrow and their concern for his wellbeing.
Obviously Paul had been afraid that his first letter was too harsh and unloving, and he admits as much in verse 8 (in 2:4 he talked about how difficult it was to write it). He had doubted his own judgment in what he had said, or how he said it. And he knew from Titus’ report it had hurt them. But the account doesn’t end here. Paul continues to say he’s now happy, not because they were hurt, but because their sorrow led them to repentance and that it was the kind of sorrow God intended – so they were not harmed by what he had said (verse 9).
The end of this matter begins in verse 12. This is a contemporary, contextual translation, “So, even though I wrote those difficult things to you as I did, it was not specifically directed towards the one who did wrong or the one who was hurt by it, but so you could realize before God that you really do accept our authority and care for us.” The principle here is obvious and needs no detailed explanations: true Godly sorrow (over personal faults or failings) leading to repentance fixes whatever is broken. The believers at Corinth are restored, Paul is comforted, his confidence in them is reinforced and Titus is relieved (verses 13-16). But, Paul is not finished dealing with this issue, as we’ll see in the next lesson.