Revised by Lois Malcolm (09/25)
Probably in the late 40s or very early 50s, PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. More founded a church—or, more likely, several smaller house churches—in the port city of Corinth. An urban center, the city of Corinth had a diverse population that may have been mirrored in the congregation of mostly GentileA gentile is anyone who is not Jewish. The term, which is derived from words that the Bible uses to denote the “nations” of the world, reflects beliefs that God had designated Israel as a nation that would be distinct from others, and a blessing… More believers Paul drew together.
After founding the church in Corinth and living there for some time, Paul went on to other work but kept contact with the Corinthians through letters and visits. He wrote 1 Corinthians and an earlier letter (see 1 Corinthians 5:9) to address problems that had emerged in the congregation. He then visited the Corinthians a second time for what he later described as a “painful visit” (2 Corinthians 2:1-11). Some wrong was done to Paul on that visit, but instead of yet making another difficult visit to address the issue, he wrote an anguished letter, which the Corinthians received as an angry rebuke (1 Corinthians 1:23-5:6).
Soon after, Paul wrote what we call 2 Corinthians, which addresses a range of issues straining Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians. For one thing, they were offended that he wrote (what they perceived to be) a letter of rebuke rather than visiting them in person. In addition, they had begun to question his competence and personal integrity as an apostleDerived from a Greek word meaning “one who is sent,” an apostle is a person who embraces and advocates another person’s idea or beliefs. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus called twelve apostles to follow and serve him. Paul became an apostle of Jesus… More, spreading rumors that he is being crafty or practicing deceit (2 Corinthians 12:16). These rumors, in turn, were being fueled by the arrival of competing apostles—whom Paul called “false apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:13) and “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5; 12:11)—who were influencing the Corinthians with ideas and behavior that, in Paul’s view, were contrary to the gospel. Related to these difficulties was the ongoing personal and communal dysfunction within the community that Paul felt needed to be addressed (2 Corinthians 12:20-21). Finally, Paul hoped to encourage the Corinthians to fulfill their commitment to contribute to the collection for the church in Jerusalem (2 Corinthians 8-9).
Paul’s tone changes dramatically between the first six chapters, which are more conciliatory, and the later chapters, which are more strident and argumentative. In between, he urges the Corinthians to continue collecting funds for the Jerusalem church. Because of these shifts in tone, modern scholars disagree on when the parts of the letter were written. Many argue that chapters 10-13 were written after chapters 1-9. Yet others treat chapters 8 and 9 as a separate letter or letters. Nonetheless, given the overall consistency in both its theological content and literary structure, 2 Corinthians can reasonably be read as a coherent whole, even if its different parts were written in stages.