BibleProject New Testament Series - Lesson 14

BP150-14 - 2 Corinthians

Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. Even though it's called second or two Corinthians in our Bibles, there are multiple clues within this letter that it's not the second thing he ever wrote to the Church of ancient Corinth. Paul started this Jesus community in Corinth some time ago on one of his missionary journeys. You can read the story in the Book of Acts, chapter 18. And after moving on, Paul got a report that things were not going well there. So he wrote the letter that we call First Corinthians to correct these problems. And it appears that many in the church rejected Paul's teaching in that letter and rebelled against his authority. So we learn in this letter that Paul had followed up in person with what he calls the painful visit. And after that, he sent a letter which he says was written with anguish and tears. And so after all these measures, most but not all of the Corinthians realized their arrogance. And they apologized to Paul. They wanted to reconcile. And so Paul wrote this letter to assure them of his love and commitment. The letter has been designed with three main sections, each addressing a distinct topic. So Paul first finalizes his reconciliation with the Corinthians. Then in chapters eight nine, he addresses the topic of forgotten generosity. And in the final chapters, Paul challenges the remaining Corinthians who still reject him. Let's dive in and you'll see how it all works. So Paul opens up by thanking the God of all mercy and comfort who brought peace and encouragement to Him and the Corinthians during this time of division and dispute. He acknowledges that things have been tense since this painful visit, and he makes clear he's forgiven them. He wants an open and honest relationship. But why had they rejected Paul in the first place? Well, we discover later in this letter that the Corinthians had disregarded Paul as a leader. He was poor. He earned a meager living through manual labor. He was under constant persecution and suffering. He was often homeless. And to top it off, he wasn't a very impressive public speaker. And so once the Corinthians were exposed to other, more wealthy, impressive Christian leaders, they started to think less of Paul. They were actually ashamed of him. So Paul responds first by showing that their elevation of these leaders, simply because of their wealth and eloquence, is a betrayal of Jesus. It shows a totally distorted value system. True Christian leadership, Paul says, is not about status or self-promotion. Paul depicts himself and the other apostles as captives slaves to King Jesus, who's leading them on a procession of triumph. Paul's job isn't to be impressive, but rather to point people to the one who is Jesus. He then alludes to the recent demand of the Corinthians that he provides some letters of recommendation to prove his authority and credentials. And this is ridiculous to Paul. Their church wouldn't even exist if he hadn't started it. And so he says they are his proof of genuine leadership. They are his letter of recommendation. He cleverly quotes from the prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, saying that God's spirit has written his letter of recommendation on their hearts as his New Covenant people. The Corinthians shouldn't need any more proof than that. Now the mention of the New Covenant, it leads Paul into a long comparison between the old covenant, between God in Israel that was mediated by Moses and the New Covenant between God and the Corinthians, mediated by Jesus in the Spirit, the old covenant made at Mt. Sinai. It was truly glorious. It made Moses himself shine with God's glory. But that glory eventually faded, not to mention the fact that the laws of that covenant were ineffective at truly transforming Israel. But the New Covenant, by comparison, is even more glorious because the resurrected Jesus is the very glory of God and He lives on forever. And it's His spirit that's now transforming people to become more faithful, just like Jesus himself. Now, this all sounds amazing. I mean, who doesn't want to share in God's own glory? But Paul goes on to show how the paradox of the cross turns upside down. The Corinthians ideas of glory and success. After all, Jesus's glorious exaltation as King took place through his suffering, execution and death on the cross. Jesus revealed God's salvation. He died for the sins of the world to reconcile people to God. But the cross does even more. It reveals God's character. He's a being of utter self-giving, suffering, love that seeks the well-being of others. The cross also reveals a new, cruciform way of life. And Paul's goal is that his life and ministry imitates the cross. So although his apostolic career, it's been marked by humility, suffering by poverty, it was all to serve the Corinthians. And so when they disapprove of Paul's poverty and suffering, they disapprove of Jesus to Paul's way of life. And leadership is actually the proof that he authentically represents the crucified and risen Jesus. Paul really wants to reconcile with the Corinthians, but he won't let things lie until they've been transformed and embrace this upside down paradox of the cross after this passionate appeal. Paul moves on to. Address the topic of forgotten generosity. So the Jewish Christians back in Jerusalem, they had fallen into poverty due to a famine, and Paul was raising money among the new churches that he started full of mostly non-Jews. They would all send a relief gift as a symbol of their unity in the Messiah Jesus and so many of his churches they were thrilled to give. But the Corinthians, in the midst of all this conflict with Paul, hadn't saved up for the gift. And for Paul, this isn't just about money. It's another sign that the Corinthians have not been transformed by the Gospel about Jesus, which at its heart is a story of generosity. Paul says, You know, the generous grace of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that even though he was rich for your sake, he became poor, so that through his poverty you might become rich. He's telling the story of the Gospel through financial metaphors. Jesus gave up his glorious honor or wealth, and he lowered himself to die like a poor slave so that other people who are impoverished through sin and death can be exalted and become wealthy through the riches of God's grace. To be a Christian is to let this story sink deep into your mind and heart, letting it transform you into someone who's more generous, more willing to share your life and resources to help others. In the final section of the letter, Paul focuses on the main source of his conflict with the Corinthians. That group of impressive leaders that he sarcastically calls super apostles. So they came to Corinth promoting themselves and badmouthing Paul as a poor, unsuccessful leader. And at the risk of sounding self-promoting, Paul says these guys really want to compare credentials. He can totally take them on. Are they Jewish Bible experts? Well, so as Paul, he was a Pharisee, for goodness sakes. He has the whole Bible memorized. Do they want to brag about their superior knowledge of Jesus? Paul has actually seen and hung out with the risen Jesus. He's actually had visions of Jesus heavenly throne room. But more importantly, Paul has given his entire life to the mission of Jesus. He's sacrifice, comfort and stability. And he never asked the Corinthians for money. Unlike the super apostles who charged a lot, Paul earned his own living. But Paul says he refuses to brag about these accomplishments because these aren't the things that really matter as a Christian. Instead, what he'll brag about is how flawed and how weak he is because it's in those inadequacies that he discovers the love and mercy of Jesus. Whereas Jesus once told Paul, My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect through weakness. Paul concludes the letter with a sober warning to the Corinthians. They need to check themselves their contempt for Paul, his way of life, their love for the super apostles. It all shows that they don't grasp who Jesus is on a fundamental level. They're not living like transformed followers of Jesus. And so He invites them once again to humble themselves before the love of Jesus. Second Corinthians gives us a really unique window into the life of Paul and the paradox set before us by the Cross of Jesus. The Cross challenges our values, our ways of seeing the world We value success, education, wealth. But God values humility and weakness because His love and power were made known through the suffering, death and the resurrection of Jesus. The cross also unleashes the transforming power and presence of the Spirit to empower Jesus followers to take up his cruciform way of life and make it their own. And that's what Second Corinthians is all about.