Biblical Theology XLIII: 2 Corinthians

The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is an apologetic of Paul’s ministry against false teachers who have sought to undermine Paul’s teaching by attacking him personally. The false teachers are arguing that Paul is nothing one would expect in a blessed man of God, and thus, his teaching should be discarded. 

Theology: Paul argues against this through a series of examples that show that the human perception of what “things look like” do not often come to the truth of what things are. He begins by stating that the gospel itself is not something that those who are entrenched in reading the Law would have understood. They think the law is their means to salvation rather than their means to receiving the salvation of Christ. The gospel, Paul says, is veiled to them. They cannot understand what God has done because they hope in the things that are seen and not in the things that are unseen (Chapters 3-4). This theme that contrasts the things that are seen with the things that are unseen runs throughout the epistle. 

Paul will again use the example of our experience of death. To the human eye, it looks like this is the end of life, but Paul argues that, as Christians, we know that this is not true. We understand that life will be given again in the resurrection (Chapter 5). 

Christians should not be regarded according to earthly appearances, but rather according to whether they are new creations in Christ, having been reconciled to God. Christ Himself became a sin-offering for us, and He was saving us on the cross, reconciling the world to God (5:16-21), something that one might view as God having abandoned Christ as well. 

Paul also argues that Christians are not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (6:14-7:1). They may have many commonalities between themselves on a superficial level, but what is unseen is that believers are the temple of the Holy Spirit and unbelievers are temples of idols/demons/Satan. 

The attack on his person continues as some argue that Paul only has a commanding presence in his writing, but not in person (10:9-11). Paul argues that this perceived weakness is due to his not wanting to bully them or puff himself up through boasting in himself, and has nothing to do with his lacking authority over them. 

He then argues that the false teachers themselves look like messengers of light, since the devil too disguises himself as an angel of light, but these perceptions are illusions (Chapter 11). 

Finally, he argues that his hardships (6:4-10) and illness (12:1-10) may look like he is not a teacher of God who has God’s favor, but in fact, he is a true apostle of Christ and teacher of God with God’s favor, and that the suffering he is given is due to God desiring His glory to be seen through Paul’s illness and hardships.

Ethics: Interwoven throughout the above argument are Paul’s pleas for the Corinthians to receive their teaching and love Paul and his companions as God’s ambassadors to them. The Corinthians evidently had withdrawn their support of Paul and to the other churches that believed Paul’s teachings. Paul argues that their love for them should be restored, and that the financial gift that was promised to them should also be made (Chapters 8-9).  

Second Corinthians is an important book because it contrasts what congregants may want in their church leaders versus what God desires them to look like. According to the claims of these false teachers, Paul is not someone to whom the Corinthians should listen because he is socially weak in that he has not visited them much nor does he have a commanding presence or speech when with them, he lives in constant rejection and hardship, and he is chronically ill. These are all signs to the false teachers that God has rejected him, and that he is a horrible example of a leader who should have everything together (health, financial stability, a commanding presence, good speaking skills, etc.). Paul makes a horrible politician and isn’t going to win any popularity contests. In a world that says it hates politicians, but in reality, wants them in their leaders, a true teacher like Paul looks nothing like what the church wants. This is the lesson of 2 Corinthians for the church. If it chooses poorly by choosing based on the things seen, i.e., superficially, it will end up being happy with the messengers of Satan who only look like messengers of light, supporting them and withdrawing their support for the true messengers of God. It must judge its leaders, not on the basis of their persona, i.e., whether they like them according to their human standards of “likeability,” but based on their faithfulness to the apostolic message concerning Jesus Christ.