Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians deals with problems among the brethren. At the writing of 2 Corinthians, Paul had not yet been to Corinth after the first epistle; however, it is apparent that he had gained information regarding the Corinthians’ response to the first epistle.
The apostle begins this second letter by letting the Corinthians know of the great suffering and comfort he and his fellow labourers in Christ were experiencing in Asia. Paul and the brethren’s suffering was not due to teaching the precepts of men but those of God.
They have dealt with the man who was guilty of immorality, and he has repented. And they have even done something about the collection for the poor saints in Judea, according to his instructions, so that the outlook seems altogether more hopeful.
It seems that only one problem remains, and that is, the lingering influence of certain people in the church who are critical of Paul himself and who are questioning his authority as an apostle of Christ.
The city of Corinth is located on an isthmus that connects southern Greece to the Peloponnese, Achaia, Acts 18:12. The connecting isthmus is five miles across. Sailors, coming from Athens or Asia Minor, often stopped in Corinth, walking the five miles rather than sailing around the Cape of Malea.
Sailing around was, to some extent, a treacherous trip due to the strong Mediterranean winds. Because of the geographic location of Corinth, it was perfect for trade and commerce. Ships, on their way westward, would stop here. Quick population and economic growth were the results.
The city of Corinth was a city of great wealth. Wealth and population explosion gave way to an entertainment industry. The Isthmian Games were a main source of entertainment for the Corinthians.
The games, similar in nature to the Olympic Games of neighbouring Olympia, occurred every other year. The apostle Paul referred to these games in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
A city with economic success, a vast population, and world-renowned Olympic-style games would naturally attract a variety of religious movements. Most cities of this day were devoted to a particular god or goddess. Ephesus was devoted to the goddess Diana. The principal deity worshipped in the city of Corinth was Venus, the goddess of love and licentiousness.
Just to the south of the city was a giant rock formation rising eighteen hundred feet above sea level known as the Acro-Corinth. A temple to Venus was erected on the northern side of this mountain. The temple employed one thousand female prostitutes for the worship of Venus.
The morality of Corinth was infamous. Every sin and vice known to mankind could be found there. It was a city with two seaports, one on either side of the narrow neck of land on which it was situated.
And because of this association with the sea and shipping and sailors, just like any major seaport today, it attracted a certain kind of women who were prepared to accommodate the seamen, and others, of course, who arrived at Corinth with money to spend after long periods at sea.
Drunkenness was commonplace, so that whenever a Corinthian was represented on the stage or in the theatre, it was as a drunkard. In fact, there was a well-known saying in those days which was used to describe a person living a wild, reckless life. ‘He lives as they live in Corinth’.
Barnes notes that many merchants lost everything they had in the city of Corinth, ‘worshipping Venus’. A common proverb of their day was: ‘It is not for everyone to go to Corinth.’ The city of Corinth reminds us of our modern-day Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the ‘sin city of their day.’
2 Corinthians is generally regarded as a difficult book to analyse, with the result that we search in vain in many commentaries for anything that resembles a clear outline!
One highly regarded scholar, Plumtre, says, ‘An analysis is not an easy matter,’ and that is certainly an understatement! Theologians are generally agreed that the form of the letter is ‘not as systematic or orderly as other letters’.
The reason for this is not hard to find. 2 Corinthians is the most personal letter written by Paul, which has been left to us, because in it he reveals his innermost feelings and emotions in a way found nowhere else in the New Testament.
2 Corinthians is not an analytical exposition of Christian doctrine, such as we have, for example, in the Roman letter, nor is it a letter of instruction sent to a problem-beset congregation by one who speaks with the assurance and authority of an inspired apostle. Instead, it is the outpouring of his heart, as he waits to learn how the Corinthians have reacted to his earlier letter.
This letter is remarkable, one might even say unique, in the New Testament, for the number of words it contains relating to the trials and hardships which Paul endured in the course of his ministry.
Words used which reflect the ‘Sufferings of Christ’. Suffering. Affliction. Anguish of heart. Tears. Pain. Sorrow. Perplexity. Persecution. Hardships. Calamities. Beatings. Imprisonments. Tumults. Labours. Hunger. Thirst. Nakedness. Sleepless nights. Fears within. Foes without. Fightings. Grief. Stonings. Shipwreck. Anxiety. Insults. Danger.
These are only some of the words Paul uses in this letter, as he opens his heart and reveals the different ways in which he has personally experienced the suffering in which he has received the ‘strengthening of the God of all strength.’
He uses at least thirty adjectives to describe suffering of every kind, mental, emotional, physical, and even spiritual, in other words, suffering involves the entire Man, body, soul and spirit. And over against them all, he sets the words ‘comfort’ and ‘comforted’, words which occur about thirteen times in his letter.
The letter may be summarised in three words.
It’s possible that Paul wrote the letter in the fall of 57 A.D., making it but a few months after writing 1 Corinthians.
There’s no debate about who wrote the letter because Paul himself tells us that he, along with Timothy, penned it, 2 Corinthians 1:1. The letter was written whilst Paul was still in Macedonia, probably written from Philippi, 2 Corinthians 9:2-4 / 2 Corinthians 11:9. When we compare 2 Corinthians 11:9 with Philippians 4:15-16, we see him anxiously awaiting the result of Titus with news from Corinth.
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