BIBLE STUDY --- NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS

2 CORINTHIANS --- PART 2

COLLECTION FOR JERUSALEM, 8:1–9:15

In the context of restored relationships Paul turns to the sensitive topic of the collection for the church in Jerusalem, which had been impoverished through famines in Judea in the 40s. This collection was both an act of charity {cf. Acts 11:27-30; Galatians 2:10} and a symbolic act of unity and fellowship between the Gentile and Jewish branches of the church. The impoverished and suffering church in Macedonia {Philippi} had given eagerly. Therefore, Titus was coming back to help the Corinthians complete what they had begun the previous year {and probably dropped during the controversy with Paul, 2 Corinthians 8:1-7}. The principles of the collection are:

1 -- the Corinthians should follow the example of Yeshua, who became poor for them;

2 -- they should give freely what they can without regretting that they cannot give more, for YHVH values the eagerness to give expressed in action, not the net amount of the gift;

3 -- there should be an economic equality among sections of the church, no one section being enriched at the expense of another {cf. Exodus 16:18}. This economic equality extends to the relationship between two churches a continent apart {2 Corinthians 8:8-15}.

Titus and two absolutely trustworthy men appointed by the churches for this work will come to supervise the final gathering -- Paul would have nothing to do with the money personally -- for it is important that not only YHVH but the world be able to see the honesty and integrity of the way the church handles money {8:16-24}. In this section Paul points out that he does not need to argue the reasons for this collection; they were aware of them when they began to gather money the year before. This letter is not an argument for the collection but an encouragement to finish the work, so that when Paul arrives with representatives of other churches carrying their contributions, the Corinthians would not be embarrassed by their relatively wealthy churches not being ready or able to give generously, despite Paul’s boasts about their previous eagerness. In saying this, Paul shows himself diplomatic and insightful in motivating human behaviour; he makes the best assumptions possible about the present situation {9:1-5}. Paul would not want the Corinthians giving out of guilt, although he, like Yeshua {Matthew 6:19-20}, pointed out that the only real value of money is in giving it to help others. Rather, he wanted them so convinced of YHVH’s generosity and ability to provide that they give freely and joyfully. YHVH wanted to enrich them so they could give more. The giving would result in thanksgiving to YHVH by the recipients, who would also pray for those who gave the gift, thereby binding the church together. A closing reminder of the extent of YHVH’s own giving finishes the section {2 Corinthians 9:6-15}.

PAUL’S SELF-DEFENSE, 10:1–13:14

There is an abrupt change in tone between 9:15 and 10:1. Now, instead of the tone of conciliation found in 1:1–7:16, there is argument and defence, even threat. Paul’s apostleship has been attacked, and he will defend it with vigour. Paul was indeed a humble person who preferred not to use his authority. Yet when forced, he had something more than authority; he had spiritual power, capable of destroying opposing arguments and bending all to obedience to Yeshua. He would use that power in Corinth if he must, though up to that time he had been gentle and had shown this side of his ministry only in letters {10:1-11}. His opponents talked of their qualifications and compared themselves favourably with other ministers. Paul would not enter into this game of comparisons. YHVH had set the sphere of his labours, which was the area in which he founded churches. He was the one who pioneered the church in Corinth, so it is his sphere of ministry, not the interloper’s {and such like him}. They boasted in having reaped the benefits of his ministry; Paul could point to an original ministry given by YHVH, for it is YHVH’s commendation in the end that counts {10:13-18}. Yet the Corinthian rebellion is serious enough to force him into self-defence, ridiculous as such an exercise is. He was shocked by how readily they turned away to every novel doctrine that came along. This tendency strikes fear in Paul’s heart {11:1-6}. Paul had been criticized for refusing financial support from Corinth {even though he accepted gifts from other churches; cf. 1 Corinthians 9}. He would continue to refuse such support, for he wanted to undermine the claims of the interloper. If the interloper was really serving YHVH alone, let him work on the same basis as Paul! But since the interloper was false at heart, serving Satan and not YHVH, he sought money from the church. Paul was astonished that in the Corinthians’ vaunted wisdom they did not see through this hypocrisy, yet he hoped that even if he must play the fool in making a self-defence, they would at least accept a fool like Paul. The irony is that his very tender care and concern for the church, his gentleness, was being used against him as a supposed “weakness.” Paul, the opponent argued, knew he was false, so therefore did not dare take money from the Corinthians {11:7-21}. Interlopers claimed to come with authority from Jerusalem. They had letters from the apostles; it is unlikely, however, that the apostles would have approved of their activities. Still, they were Jews with respectable authority behind them. Paul felt compelled to state his own credentials. If they were Jews, he was just as pure a Jew. If they served the Moshiach, could their work and sufferings match his? The list of sufferings both gives historical information not found in Acts and points to tireless labour, including days of fasting {“gone without food”} and nights spent in prayer {“gone without sleep”} {11:21-29}. But this boasting was repulsive to Paul, so he isolated one particular suffering -- his escape from Damascus, when he had to hide and slip out of the city in a basket. The story at once shows his effectiveness as an evangelist {in that he was a target of persecution} and shames him, for he could not defend himself and had to slip away under cover of darkness. Yet that weakness was indeed his glory {11:30-33}. His opponents boasted in revelations from YHVH. Paul knew that this boasting was senseless; however, if he must, he would tell them of a revelation superior to theirs, a time when he actually saw the inside of heaven {he is not sure whether it was a vision or an actual bodily experience}. This probably happened about AD 42, while Paul was in Tarsus, before Barnabas came for him {Acts 9:30; 11:25}. Paul disliked telling about this, for YHVH’s power is more easily seen in his weakness. In fact, Paul’s opponents were an affliction of Satan that YHVH allowed to keep Paul humble and to demonstrate his power in Paul’s weakness. {The image of a “thorn in my flesh” is one of enemies -- Numbers 33:55; Joshua 23:13; Paul also describes what he means more clearly in 2 Corinthians 12:10}. If vulnerability shows YHVH’s power, Paul willingly accepts the weakness {12:1-10}. Paul felt ashamed that he had to boast. The opponents boasted in coming from the Jerusalem “super-apostles.” Paul pointed out that he was their equal, although both are nothing. YHVH had set his mark upon Paul’s work. With biting irony, he asks forgiveness for not having taken money from the Corinthians {12:11-13}. Yet Paul would come a third time, and he would keep to the same policy of not taking any support from them but giving himself freely to them, just as Yeshua had done on earth. Not only he, but all his envoys, kept to the same policy. No one could accuse him of deceit or inconsistency {12:14-18}. However, he feared coming to them, for he knew that the community had not just rebelled against him but was also in internal disorder. This disunity and immorality would humble and pain Paul {12:19–13:4}. Therefore, the Corinthians had better examine themselves. Were they really following Yeshua or not? If so, they should see that Paul was also following Yeshua. Yet Paul’s concern was not for his own position -- he was content to be rejected {“weak”} -- but for their following the truth. He hoped for their repentance, not to protect himself, but so that he need not be severe when he came {13:5-10}. Probably taking the pen from the scribe at this point, Paul closes with a final appeal to repent and come to unity as a church. Brief greetings from the church in Macedonia and a formal blessing closes his correspondence with the Corinthians {verses 11-13}.