134. Beginner Bible Course: Paul's second letter to the Corinthians

EPISODE 134  Simple Bible overview:  PAUL’S SECOND LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS

The second letter to the Corinthians is clearly his most personal and least doctrinal letter. Paul gets really real. And when I give you the background, you'll understand why, if you haven't been following these episodes since episode one 25, you won't have a context for this very personal second letter to the church in Corinth. When Paul writes, this is in his late fifties, he meets Jesus at about age 30 and spends about the next 15 years rewiring his incredible brain and about 45 Ady Barnabas pulls him out of his moth balls and brings him to Antioch to help pass to the growing church.

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There once pulled out a moth balls. Paul's only going to have about 20 years of ministry available when we get to second Corinthians, he's burned up over half of them. So that clock is running and his ministry is reasonably short. If you're thinking, how did he ever know his ministry was going to be short? All you need to do is follow him on the first journey. He was beaten to a pulp and there's a fair chance. He was actually stoned to death everywhere. He goes, he's dogged with danger. He quickly becomes public enemy. Number one, in most cities, he visits shortly after arrival. Another thing we need to understand is the critical mission he was on. Paul was aware that Jesus' command was to take the gospel from Jerusalem to Judea, into Samarria and then to the ends of the earth.

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He knows Jesus has selected him to be the primary apostle to the Gentile nations. That's the beyond to the ends of the earth. The Roman empire itself was massive and Paul feels personally obligated to do everything he humanly and spiritually can to move this gospel out both personally, and in training, those who had carried the Baton further after his death. So as ministry was likely short, and the mission was critical. A third thing to understand is just how hostile the opposition was. I already mentioned this in episode one 25, the story of Paul, but it's here in second Corinthians. Paul gives us this long list of what he's already gone through five times, receiving 39 lashes from the Jews being beaten with rods, three times, being stoned, being shipwreck and floating at sea for a day and a half.

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Then that long list of the dangers he'd endured and the stress he has daily out of concern for the churches in every location. Paul presses, the gospel forward. There's hostile pushback in light of this short ministry and critical mission. Paul had made a huge investment in the church of Corinth. When he arrived there on the second missionary journey, he ended up spending 18 months establishing this church up until this time. That's the longest he spent in any of these cities. He was under such hostile there that God had to give him a dreamer vision, that it was okay to stay, put God would take care of him.

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After he left, he poured himself out, continually in prayer for these baby Corinthian believers. He wrote several follow-up letters. One was the letter. We just studied the first letter to Corinth and he wrote a second one. He calls it a severe letter. One that was lost. That's the background to second Corinthians, his likely short ministry, the critical mission, the hostile opposition and the huge investment he'd made in Corinth. We need to understand this background to understand Paul's content in second Corinthians, in his second letter to Corinth, we can tell from the letter here's what was happening.

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Leaders or shepherds had moved into that congregation and they were maligning Paul. Here's what they were saying. Paul didn't draw a salary from you as your church planting pastor, did he? So you're saying he was good for nothing, right? These leaders who had come in were charging the Corinthians for pastoring them. They may have even been using Paul's instruction in the first letter. Don't muzzle the ox while he's treading out the grain, they're charging the Corinthians good money to be their shepherds. They're also telling the Corinthians. Paul is unimpressive and appearance, maybe adding. He makes a bad first impression on people interested in our church.

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They're also saying Paul's speech is contemptible, as I've mentioned before. We're not sure if that means he just didn't talk good. Or he had some sort of speech impediment. They were also alleging Paul doesn't keep his commitments. Paul had said he was coming to them and had to cancel his visit. These new shepherds had locked in on that saying he doesn't keep his commitments. And frankly, he probably doesn't care. And they were maligning Paul in one more way. They alleged Paul is bold in his letters. He's a real lion, but he's meek. When he's in person, a pussy cat, Paul likely could have handled these page shepherds in Corinth.

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If that's where it ended. I mean, he was used to being verbally abused, but they were going deeper. They were twisting the message. We saw how Paul lashed out at the Judaizers, coming into the churches in Glacia and twisting the message of grace. Paul loses it and goes on the attack. But here we get the idea. These paid shepherds weren't overtly twisting the gospel. It was more subtle. They were just moving the compass needle off a few degrees, maybe majoring on the minors. This twisting of the message though, perhaps subtle was too much for Paul. So he dictates the second letter to the Corinthians carried along by the spirit.

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Paul gets real. I'm going to give three ways. He gets real. He responds to the attack of these paid shepherds that he sarcastically calls super apostles. And he does it with a three-pronged attack. First Paul becomes, I don't know how else to say this. Defensive. He addresses the allegation that he doesn't care because he didn't return on time. He tells them that God had changed his plans, that in Macedonia, he got bogged down with severe affliction. He doesn't describe what it was, but explains to the Corinthians. It was so bad that he and his team disparate of life itself.

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He reminds them that he had written another letter. This last or severe letter, perhaps in lieu of his visit. God not. He had changed his plans to the allegation that Paul had not charged them. A salary. Paul goes on the attack. Sometimes people who charge for ministry are just peddlers, crafty, peddlers, hucksters. You might say he urges them to examine what they're selling. What's the quality of what these peddlers are selling to the allegation. He is bold in his letters, but we can person. Paul asked the Corinthians, do you want me to return and come hard at you?

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Is that what you really want to the allegation? He's a poor speaker. Paul replies. Yeah, I am. But you saw when I was there, God's power flowed through me. The super apostles have clever words, but can they bring God's power? I ask you Corinthians did God back up my words with his power. Then Paul pulls another one out of his hat. These paid peddlers you have right now, what do they really know about Jesus? I mean really near the end of this letter, Paul says, I know a guy, he was caught up into heaven or paradise, and he saw things you can't even describe. It's clear. Paul is referring to himself, some vision or out of body experience, a close encounter with God out of which his ministry flows.

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Paul quickly adds. So he wouldn't get puffed up. God gave him something like a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble in these areas. Paul's defensive. He defends himself the messenger. So they won't abandon the message. He entrusted to them. In second Corinthians. Paul also gets rather pushy in two chapters. He's pressing them to fulfill a financial commitment. They'd made the year before to collect an offering for the poor back in the Judea area. He's sending Titus to come and get it. And he goes a little godfather on them. Don't embarrass us. He gives them the principle. If you sow sparingly, you'll reap sparingly.

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He adds the pressure that poor Christians in Macedonia had given until it hurt urging them not to look lacking compared to their Macedonian brothers. And then he pulls out the Jesus card, reminding them the Jesus though. He was rich, became poor for us, that we might through him, become rich reflecting on the allegations that he was meek in person. He tells them when I come next time, I'm not going to come meek. I'm going to come strong and power to check out your lives. Throughout this letter. You'll also see Paul using strong drippy sarcasm. Sarcasm is a dangerous literary device.

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It can either be abusive to show contempt or a last ditch effort to wake people up. Clearly, as he was carried along by the Holy spirit. The second was the objective. Paul tells the Corinthian readers, these super apostles, like to slap you around and abuse you. I'm so sorry. I didn't abuse you. When I visited the super apostles, like to Jack up their salary. I apologize that I didn't ask you for a big salary. The super apostles come with letters of commendation and a great resume. I'm sorry, I didn't bring you my letters of commendation. I kind of thought you were my letters of commendation and that would be enough and about that resume.

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I didn't give you one when I came. So here it is. And this is where Paul gives them the lash by Jews, beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked, et cetera. List. Paul gets really real when you read it, you'll see his desperate attempt to get the attention of these Corinthians being wooed away or thrown off course by these religious peddlers in between his defensive, pushy, or sarcastic statements. Paul drips, helpful instruction doctrine for God's kids. He explains how, when we believe in Jesus, we are sealed with the Holy spirit.

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The Holy spirit is actually a pledge or a down payment from God like an engagement ring, couples exchange, a token of a future relationship that will be deep and intimate. Paul also explains how the world will respond to those who follow Jesus. You could call it the smell test to some people. You will be the smell of life, perhaps like a refreshing spring rain, but to others, you will be a stench of death. Jesus indicated this numerous times. That's how people responded to him. And that's how people will respond to his apprentices, seeking to live like him.

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In second Corinthians, Paul also continues to compare following the law to be right with God versus living life in the spirit. You'll want to read this area. And especially if you're drawn toward doing chores to please God sort of tendency. Paul gives a very check to all of us folks regarding what to look for in spiritual advisers and shepherds. We tend to look at the externals, the gifts and the strengths. Paul warns us to be very careful that God often flows in his best way through common vessels. And the reason he does it is so that the glory might go to God, not the vessel.

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Imagine your neighbor lady comes over with a cool whip container. She says, I've made a special jelly for you. When you open up the container and taste it it's the best jelly you've ever tasted, but it came in a cool whip container. It's possible. You might not have even tasted it because of the container. I mean a cool whip container. When it comes to selecting Christians, we follow or are mentored or pastored by Paul urges us to be very careful. We don't miss the contents we need because we overlook the container. It comes in Paul's words are needed. Now as much as ever it's my personal conviction, Jesus would not be hired by most churches as their lead shepherd.

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His container wouldn't even make the final cut. Maybe I'll flesh that out in a future episode, Paul moves on to give us guidance on what will happen at the judgment seat. I've mentioned earlier about what happens between death and this time of judgment. According to scripture, Paul clarifies the judgment itself by saying this, we will all appear before the judgment seat of God. Jesus will be the judge in what will be looked at as evidence is the good and bad we have done in our bodies. Paul further explains. We are not only judged on what we do with Jesus going all in or rejecting him as our payment for our sin.

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There's also some sense of weighing our stewardship, how we have lived as apprentices of Jesus in chapter five. Paul reminds us if we've died with Jesus, we've also been raised with him and raised with him. We are to live in him as a new creation. As that new creation, the old life fades away. He explains later how some of that fading process happens. It is by taking every thought captive. Paul is saying here, a large part of our transformation is the transformation of our minds. It is feeding our minds. It's reprogramming our minds with God's truth.

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He further reminds us our ministry is to help others go through this same find Jesus transformation process. Paul calls us ambassadors. Paul goes on to clarify a little more of what Jesus meant when he cried, paid in full from the cross. Paul writes God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might have the righteousness of God in him. Paul moves on to who yoke ourselves to whether that's in a marriage or other partnerships in life. While Paul says, mix it up with the world, reach out to them as witnesses and ambassadors. He urges us not to get in the yoke with non-believers.

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If you remember the imagery of a yoke from Jesus, this is where two are harnessed together, tightly in a daily apprenticeship pulling toward the same objective. You can't put a husband and a wife or business partners into a daily intimate yoke when they're pulling in different directions. And Paul concludes with this challenge, a reminder from the first letter, we need to regularly examine the evidence of the Holy spirit and growth in our lives. If the Holy spirit lives inside of us, fingerprints of his presence should be evident over time. Paul reminded the Corinthians, examine yourself each time you take the Lord's table.

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Now in the second letter, he urges the Corinthians to do a regular self examination. Jesus would say, you'll know yourself by your fruit. We'll see in his letter to the Romans, we need to be careful about this examination because often the enemy likes to be involved, turning it in from an honest, self-examination into a pig piling self condemnation. And speaking of that letter to the Romans it's at about this same time that Paul dictates that letter, the letter to the Romans is considered Paul's Magnum Opus. If you want to go to one writing that gives the answer to the question, what does it mean to be right with God?

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This is it. And we'll look at Paul's letter to the Romans in our next wordpicture.