Introduction To The Second Episptle Of Paul To The Corinthians
Overview
This is actually the third letter of Paul to the Corinthian (see note 1 at Acts 18:1) believers. However, this is only the second letter of which we still have a copy (see Overview in Introduction to 1 Corinthians). Paul wrote 2 Corinthians during his third missionary journey (see note 2 at Acts 18:23), probably from Macedonia (see note 1 at Acts 16:9). This is because Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 that he had already left Ephesus and traveled through Troas into Macedonia. In 2 Corinthians 7:5, he agains mentions being in Macedonia.
It was while Paul was in Macedonia that he met up with Titus. Titus had been to Corinth and he brought Paul word about how the Corinthians had received his previous letter (2 Cor. 7:6-8). Perhaps Titus is the messenger that Paul used to carry that letter. In 2 Corinthians 8:6, 16-17, Paul reveals that he had commissioned Titus to minister to the Corinthians about giving.
Paul believed that this letter was needed for several reasons. First, he used this letter to explain his delay in returning to them as he had promised in 1 Corinthians 16:5-9. He didn't want to come to them until all differences were reconciled (2 Cor. 1:23-2:3) and that wasn't complete yet. He wanted the Corinthians to forgive and restore the brother who Paul said to turn over to Satan in 1 Corinthians 5 (2 Cor. 2:5-11).
Paul also defended his apostleship to these Corinthians again (2 Cor. 3:1-3; 4:1-15; 10:10-14; 11:4-6,13-15; 13:3). And last, Paul wanted to give further instruction about the collection that was being taken for the poor saints at Jerusalem, lest the Corinthians be embarassed (2 Cor. 9:1-11).
Background
Having founded the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey, Paul and the Corinthians had frequent contacts thereafter because of problems in the church (see Overview in Introduction to 1 Corinthians). Following are the sequence of these contacts and the setting for writing 2 Corinthians: (1) After some initial contacts and correspondence with the church, Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. (2) Next, Paul made a trip across the Aegean Sea to Corinth to deal with further problems in the church. This visit was a painful one (2 Cor. 2:1-2). (3) After this visit, reports reached Paul that antagonists were still attacking his apostolic authority at Corinth, almost persuading a portion of the church to reject Paul. (4) In response to this report (along with the reasons listed above in the Overview), Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia. (5) Shortly thereafter Paul traveled to Corinth again (2 Cor. 13:1), where he stayed for about three months (Acts 20:1-3).
Authorship
Paul is clearly the author of this letter to the Corinthians, as he identifies himself twice by name (2 Cor. 1:1; 10:1). Unger states, "Evidence that Paul is the writer and that the letter is genuine is strong. Polycarp, Irenaeus, Theophilus of Antioch, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, Marcion and the Muratorian Canon all testify of Pauline Authorship" (Unger's Bible Handbook). A brief history of Paul's life can be found in note 1 at Acts 9:1. Numerous notes about the Apostle Paul are scattered throughout the book of Acts (Ex.–further information about his conversion–notes 4-9 at Acts 22:6-13; his life and death–note 1 at Acts 28:30).
The Recipients Of The Book Of 2 Corinthians
Corinth was a Greek metropolis that was morally corrupt and notroiously sensual (see Background in Introduction to 1 Corinthians; see note 1 at Acts 18:1). At the time of this writing there were three categories of people in the church at Corinth: (1) the majority who remained faithful to Paul as their spiritual father; (2) false apostles who tried to undermine Paul's authority and distort his message; (3) the minority who were being influenced by the false apostles and were resisting Paul's authority.
Date And Place Of Writing
Acts 18:1-17 speaks of the establishment of the Corinthian church by Paul. The letter of 1 Corinthians was written before the completion of his third missionary trip and after his second (see notes 1-2 at Acts 18:22-23). From an examination of 1 Corinthians 16:1-11; 2 Corinthians 2:13; 7:5, we conclude that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus (1Cor. 16:8) sometime before Pentecost, and that 2 Corinthians was written not many months later from Macedonia (2 Cor. 2:13; 7:5), probably around A.D. 57 or the spring of A.D. 58.
