Bible Commentary / New Testament
2 Corinthians
2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s most personal and pastorally intense letters. Its central burden is the relationship between suffering, weakness, divine comfort, and apostolic power. Paul writes after a painful season in his relationship with the Corinthian church, and the letter shows him defending his ministry, calli…
Literary units
2 Corinthians 1:1 - 2 Corinthians 1:11
Greeting and thanksgiving
After the opening greeting, Paul blesses God as the source of mercy and comfort and immediately interprets his afflictions through that confession. The repeated language of comfort in vv. 3-7 shows that God’s help in trouble is meant to pa…
2 Corinthians 1:12 - 2 Corinthians 2:11
Comfort in affliction and God's purpose
Paul answers the charge that his changed travel plans showed double-mindedness. He appeals to a clear conscience, plain dealing, and God's faithfulness: his conduct was marked by sincerity from God, not fleshly maneuvering, and the gospel…
2 Corinthians 2:12 - 2 Corinthians 2:17
Paul's change of plans and forgiveness of the offender
Paul returns to his travel explanation: although the Lord opened a real opportunity in Troas, he left for Macedonia because Titus had not arrived and his spirit had no rest. That unresolved anxiety gives way to thanksgiving, as Paul interp…
2 Corinthians 3:1 - 2 Corinthians 3:18
Ministry of the new covenant and the Spirit
Paul answers the charge that he lacks proper credentials by pointing to the Corinthians themselves as Christ's letter, written by the Spirit on human hearts rather than on stone. From there he contrasts the Mosaic ministry, which in this c…
2 Corinthians 4:1 - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Ministry of reconciliation
Paul answers criticism of his ministry by tying everything to God's action in Christ. He renounces hidden and manipulative methods, preaches Jesus rather than himself, and explains unbelief in terms of blindness that only God can overcome…
6:1-18
Fear and boldness in ministry
Paul turns the plea of 5:20-21 into an immediate warning: the Corinthians must not receive God's grace to no effect, because the promised 'acceptable time' is now. He then answers doubts about his ministry by rehearsing afflictions, virtue…
2 Corinthians 7:1 - 2 Corinthians 7:16
Encouragement and joy over repentance
This unit completes Paul's appeal for relational openness and covenantal holiness, then explains how the Corinthians' response to his severe letter turned his anguish into joy. Verse 1 draws an ethical inference from the promises cited in…
2 Corinthians 8:1 - 2 Corinthians 9:15
Generosity and collection for the saints
Paul urges the Corinthians to finish the Jerusalem collection they had already begun, but to do so as a genuine act of grace rather than under pressure. He holds up the Macedonians, whose joy overflowed in generosity despite affliction and…
2 Corinthians 10:1 - 2 Corinthians 11:15
Paul defends his apostleship and authority
Paul answers critics who read his weakness, plain speech, and refusal to self-promote as proof that he lacks real authority. He insists that his authority comes from the Lord, is meant to build the Corinthians up, and carries divine power…
11:16-33
Paul's hardships and concern for the Corinthians
Paul reenters the "fool's" role because the Corinthians have let rival teachers set the terms of comparison. He grants the opponents' ethnic claims in a few clipped lines, then overturns the contest by rehearsing imprisonments, beatings, d…
2 Corinthians 12:1 - 2 Corinthians 13:10
Paul's vision, weakness, and sufficiency in Christ
This unit completes Paul's "foolish boasting" by contrasting surpassing revelations with divinely appointed weakness, then turns that paradox into a defense of his apostolic ministry and a warning before his third visit. Paul recounts an i…
2 Corinthians 13:11 - 2 Corinthians 13:14
Final greetings and exhortations
After the warnings of 12:20-13:10, Paul ends with a tight string of corporate commands: rejoice, be restored, receive exhortation, share one mind, and live in peace. He then calls them to enact reconciliation in a holy greeting and closes…