“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”Read the surrounding chapter
Time, place, and setting
- Time
- Mid first century AD, with a Macedonian setting reconstructed from the correspondence; the exact sequence of letters and visits is debated. 5
- Place
- Paul addresses Corinth and the saints throughout Achaia. Asia, Troas, Macedonia and Jerusalem belong to the letter’s travel and relief network. 1
- Setting
- Strained relationships, reports from Titus, the Jerusalem collection and challenges to Paul’s ministry connect comfort, reconciliation, generosity and authority. 1
A letter within a wounded relationship
Second Corinthians opens with Paul and Timothy addressing the church at Corinth and the saints throughout Achaia. The greeting leads into praise for the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. Paul does not speak from a protected position: he recalls being pressed beyond strength in Asia and despairing even of life. Deliverance taught him dependence upon God who raises the dead, while the Corinthians’ prayers made them partners in thanksgiving. The death sentence language does not establish a judicial proceeding. 7 Comfort received from God can become comfort offered to another. 17 The opening therefore introduces a shared life of suffering, prayer and hope before the disputes are explained. 1
Paul’s changed travel plans had become a question of trust. He explains that he delayed a visit to spare the Corinthians and wrote with tears so they would know his love. The letter’s pastoral concern reaches beyond winning an argument. 18 Titus later brought news of their response, relieving Paul’s anxiety and renewing joy. Yet restoration and criticism appear together, and the shifts of tone invite literary debate. 6 Its present form allows readers to hear both affection and the difficult work of repairing fellowship. 1
Mercy includes forgiveness and renewed trust
In chapter 2, Paul directs attention to a person who had caused grief. The punishment imposed by the majority has been sufficient, and the congregation should now forgive, comfort and confirm its love. Restoration gives discipline its purpose. 3 Paul joins their forgiveness rather than using the occasion to claim personal importance. The person remains unnamed, and the passage’s concern is the danger of overwhelming sorrow. This movement belongs beside chapter 7, where Paul distinguishes sorrow that leads to repentance from sorrow that ends destructively. The distinction concerns the response to this painful correspondence and the wrong it addresses. 1
Chapter 7 also makes comfort concrete. God comforts the downcast through Titus’s arrival and the report he carries. Paul had known fears within and conflicts without; a trusted person and truthful news become means of encouragement. In Christian care, this gives prayer a human setting: listening, presence and practical support accompany the confession that comfort comes from God. Philippians 2 similarly describes Paul’s concern for a gravely sick coworker and gratitude for mercy. James 5 calls the afflicted to prayer and the church to pray for the sick. These passages sustain Pentecostal prayer for healing alongside patient care for those who hurt. 1
The Spirit gives life and forms a people
From 2:14 to 7:4 Paul describes his ministry at length. The Corinthians themselves are his letter of recommendation, written by the Spirit of the living God on hearts. New covenant language connects this transformed people with the ministry entrusted to him. 8 Jeremiah 31 promises God’s law written inwardly, and Ezekiel 36 speaks of a new heart and God’s Spirit. Paul’s comparison with Moses in chapter 3 develops the surpassing glory of Christ and the Spirit’s work. The words about letter and Spirit concern this covenant argument; Paul’s own repeated use of Scripture shows how deeply that argument depends upon the biblical witness. 1
The ministry proclaims Jesus Christ as Lord rather than presenting Paul as its centre. In chapter 4, the God who commanded light shines in hearts through the knowledge of his glory in Jesus Christ’s face. The Corinthians’ changed lives matter as ministerial credentials. 9 Yet the treasure is carried in earthen vessels: affliction, perplexity and persecution expose human weakness while God sustains life. The minister’s life belongs with the message of the cross. 19 Resurrection hope gives this costly service a future, so outward decay and present groaning do not exhaust what God has promised. 1
Christ’s love opens a new life
Chapter 5 moves from mortality and judgment to the love of Christ. One died for all, and those who live are to live for the one who died and rose for them. The new creation declaration belongs within that change of allegiance and perception. God takes the initiative in reconciliation through Christ. 16 Paul describes a ministry and word of reconciliation, then appeals as Christ’s ambassador for people to be reconciled to God. Verse 21 names the sinless Christ and the righteousness received in him. This is saving grace, giving both a restored relationship and a new direction for life. 1
The appeal continues into chapter 6, with Isaiah 49’s acceptable time and day of salvation. Paul lists endurance, kindness, truthful speech, the Holy Ghost and sincere love among the marks of ministry. His call for opened hearts stands beside a warning about incompatible allegiance to idols. The temple language recalls God’s promise to dwell among his people. Holiness and reconciliation therefore belong together: grace calls people into a relationship that changes conduct. Ephesians 2 connects reconciliation through the cross with shared access to the Father by one Spirit, and Ephesians 4 joins truthful speech, forgiveness and gifts that build up Christ’s body. 1
Generosity carries grace into material need
Chapters 8 and 9 turn toward the collection for believers in Jerusalem. The Macedonians’ poverty has not prevented generous participation, and the Corinthians are encouraged to complete what they began. Christ’s self giving anchors the appeal to generosity. 20 Paul measures readiness according to what a person has and seeks relief that meets need. The manna quotation from Exodus 16 recalls provision shared so that one person’s abundance serves another’s lack. Received grace can make its recipients generous. 14 The collection gives love a material form and connects distant congregations in thanksgiving and prayer. 1
Administration belongs within this ministry. Titus and other trusted representatives help carry the gift, with care for what is honourable before God and people. Shared oversight supports confidence in the collection’s intended use. 13 Contemporary church partnerships can also address unequal resources. 15 Chapter 9’s sowing and harvest language leads toward sufficiency for good works, generous distribution and thanksgiving to God. It is the purpose of the abundance that matters: people can share, needs are supplied and God is praised. The grace of Christ forms a giving community rather than turning the recipients of relief into instruments of a donor’s prestige. 1
Christ shapes power, weakness and peace
The tone sharpens in chapters 10 to 13 as Paul answers criticisms and challenges false claims. His authority is for building up, and his appeal begins with Christ’s meekness and gentleness. Leadership and the Christ it represents belong together. 10 Paul’s costly ministry challenges judgments based upon impressive appearance. 12 The angel of light contrast exposes the gap between appearance and reality. 11 Paul’s account of labours, beatings, dangers and concern for the churches then replaces a contest of prestige with a record of service. The cross and resurrection supply the decisive pattern: Christ was crucified in weakness and lives by God’s power. 1
Chapter 12 places extraordinary revelations beside an affliction Paul calls a thorn. Its precise identity remains uncertain, while the answer to his repeated prayer is Christ’s sufficient grace. The passage’s strength is Christ’s power sustaining weakness. 4 Signs, wonders and mighty deeds in 12:12 stand within patience and sacrificial care, keeping Pentecostal expectation joined to love and character. First Corinthians 12 to 14 likewise connects healing, prophecy and tongues with the common good and intelligible encouragement. The closing blessing gathers grace, love and the Holy Ghost’s communion around a congregation called to restoration and peace. 1
Sources
Numbered references support the material above. Scripture quotations use the KJV.
- The Holy Bible, King James VersionKing James translators · 1611
2 Corinthians 1 to 13; Genesis 1, 3; Exodus 16, 33, 34; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 19; 2 Samuel 7; Psalms 112, 116; Isaiah 40, 49, 52, 53, 65; Jeremiah 31; Ezekiel 36, 37; Matthew 26, 28; Mark 10, 14; Luke 22, 24; John 14, 15, 16, 20; Acts 2, 9, 18, 19, 20, 24; Romans 5, 6, 8, 12, 15; 1 Corinthians 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; Galatians 3, 5; Ephesians 2, 4; Philippians 2, 3, 4; 1 Thessalonians 4, 5; James 2, 5; Greek 2 Corinthians 5:18 to 20
View the source - A Greek English Lexicon of the New TestamentJoseph Henry Thayer
Complete historical entry 2643, reconciliation; Greek context 2 Corinthians 5:18 to 20
View the source - The Second Epistle to the CorinthiansJohn James Lias
Complete retained commentary on 2:1 to 11, text lines 6 to 55; book title and author metadata retained separately.
View the source - Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament Second CorinthiansHeinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Complete retained commentary on 12:7 to 10, text lines 74 to 117 including the whole 12:7 apparatus and 12:8 to 9 argument.
View the source - Second CorinthiansThomas D. Stegman · 2009
Official Baker preview, PDF pages 8 to 18; printed pages 15 to 25; copyright page, PDF page 2.
View the source - 2 Corinthians a Letter about Reconciliation A Psychagogical, Epistolographical and Rhetorical AnalysisIvar Vegge · 2019
Licensed preview, PDF pages 14 to 17; printed pages 1 to 4; title and preface, pages 1 to 9.
View the source - A Note on 2 Corinthians 1:9Colin J. Hemer · 1972
five page article, printed pages 103 to 107, PDF 1 to 5
View the source - Covenant The Key to Paul’s Conflict with CorinthWilliam L. Lane · 1982
Complete PDF pages 13 to 16, printed 15 to 18, covenant and ministerial argument.
View the source - The Setting of 2 CorinthiansRalph P. Martin · 1986
Complete PDF pages 1 to 4 and 11 to 14, printed 3 to 6 and 13 to 16.
View the source - The Social Construction of Paul’s Apostolic Leadership in CorinthJack Barentsen · 2018
Complete PDF pages 8 to 10, authority comparison and social identity synthesis.
View the source - Angels as Arguments? The Rhetorical Function of References to Angels in the Main Letters of PaulD. Francois Tolmie · 2011
Complete PDF pages 5 to 7, with Second Corinthians discussion on page 5 and concluding rhetorical synthesis on 6 to 7.
View the source - Walking the Talk Paul’s Authority in Motion in 2 Corinthians 10 to 13Stephan J. Joubert · 2015
Retained text lines 58 to 81, three sections on challenging bodily stereotypes, leadership and cross shaped speech.
View the source - The Leadership Challenges of Paul’s Collection for the Saints in Jerusalem Part I Overcoming Obstacles on the Side of the Gentile Christian DonorsChristoph W. Stenschke · 2015
Complete PDF pages 9 to 11, conclusion and leadership portrait, including financial policy and transparency.
View the source - From Timely Exegesis to Contemporary Ecclesiology Relevant Hermeneutics and Provocative Embodiment of Faith in a Corona Defined World Generosity during a PandemicScot McKnight · 2021
PDF pages 3 to 6, on the collection, terms, generosity and equality; reference metadata, page 7.
View the source - A South African Exploration of the Jerusalem Collection in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9Alef M. Meulenberg and Shaun Joynt · 2025
Complete PDF pages 3 to 5, exegesis, methodology and contextual church partnership proposals.
View the source - Reconciliation with God through the Death of Jesus ChristDavid E. Garland · 2025
Complete official publisher excerpt, retained text lines 60 to 85, including both atonement and reconciliation sections.
View the source - Commentary on Second CorinthiansPeter Balla
Complete commentary section Greeting and Prologue on God’s Comfort 1:1 to 11, retained text lines 330 to 344.
View the source - Father Imagery in 2 Corinthians 1 to 9 and Jewish Paternal TraditionAnthony A. Myrick · 1996
PDF pages 5 to 9; printed pages 167 to 171, Paul section and conclusion; opening footnote 5.
View the source - A Call to Pastoral Suffering The Need for Recovering Paul’s Model of Ministry in 2 CorinthiansScott J. Hafemann · 2000
PDF pages 1 to 4, printed 22 to 25, plus complete endnote and concluding apparatus pages 13 to 15, printed 34 to 36.
View the source - Rich Poverty 2 Corinthians 8:1 to 15 and the Social Meaning of Poverty and WealthJohn M. G. Barclay · 2023
PDF pages 10 to 13, printed 252 to 255, treatment of Christ’s generosity and the collection appeal.
View the source