About the Author
Paul, originally named Saul, was a Jewish man from Tarsus in Cilicia, a significant city in the Roman province of Asia Minor. He lived during the first century AD, in the decades following the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, at a time when the early church was expanding rapidly across the Greco Roman world. Authorship of 2 Corinthians is widely accepted among scholars as genuinely Pauline, making it one of the least disputed letters in the New Testament.
Paul was trained as a Pharisee under the respected teacher Gamaliel and was zealous for the Jewish law. Before his conversion, he actively persecuted followers of Jesus, even participating in their arrest and, in the case of Stephen, their execution. His life changed dramatically on the road to Damascus, where he encountered the risen Christ in a blinding vision that left him temporarily unable to see. This encounter transformed him from a persecutor of the church into one of its most devoted missionaries.
After his conversion, Paul spent years in preparation, including time in Arabia and Damascus, before beginning his missionary journeys. He established churches throughout Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, including the church at Corinth. His relationship with the Corinthian believers was marked by both deep affection and significant conflict, as false teachers and internal divisions threatened the health of that congregation.
2 Corinthians was written after a painful and complicated relationship between Paul and the Corinthian church. An earlier severe letter, sometimes called the “sorrowful letter” and possibly not preserved in the New Testament, had caused deep distress but ultimately led to repentance among the believers there. False apostles had also entered the congregation, undermining Paul’s authority and preaching a different gospel. Paul wrote this letter to express relief and joy over their repentance, to defend his apostolic authority against these false teachers, to encourage generosity toward the suffering church in Jerusalem, and to prepare the Corinthians for his upcoming visit. The audience was a Gentile congregation in a wealthy, morally permissive port city known for its commerce and diverse religious practices.
Introduction
In 2 Corinthians Chapter 1, Paul opens his letter by identifying himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus and greeting the church in Corinth along with all the believers in Achaia. He begins with a heartfelt reflection on comfort and suffering, praising God as the Father of mercies and the source of all comfort. Paul explains that the trials he has faced have equipped him to comfort others who are suffering, showing how God’s comfort flows through believers to strengthen one another in times of hardship.
Paul then describes a severe affliction he experienced in Asia, one so overwhelming that he despaired of life itself, yet he testifies that this experience taught him to rely not on himself but on God, who raises the dead. He expresses gratitude for the prayers of the Corinthians and affirms his sincerity and integrity in dealing with them, defending himself against any suspicion of insincerity regarding his travel plans. Paul closes the chapter by emphasizing the faithfulness of God’s promises in Christ, explaining that all of God’s promises find their yes in Jesus, and that the Spirit given to believers serves as a guarantee of what is to come.
Chapter 1 (BBE)
Important Verses
Verse 3 Paul praises God as the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort.
Verse 4 He explains that God comforts believers in their troubles so that they may comfort others facing similar struggles.
Verse 9 Paul reflects on his severe trial, describing how it taught him to trust in God who raises the dead rather than in himself.
Verse 20 He affirms that all of God’s promises are fulfilled and confirmed through Christ.
Verse 22 Paul describes the Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee given to believers as a promise of what is to come.
