Introduction to the Book of Second Corinthians

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT)

The apostle Paul

This book contains several popular and undoubtedly familiar phrases including: “we have this treasure in jars of clay” (see 2 Corinthians 4:7); “we walk by faith, not by sight” (see 2 Corinthians 5:7); “we are ambassadors for Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 5:20); “He made Him to be sin who knew no sin” (see 2 Corinthians 5:21); “do not be unequally yoked to unbelievers” (see 2 Corinthians 6:14); “God loves a cheerful giver” (see 2 Corinthians 9:7); “a thorn was given me in the flesh” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7); “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (see 2 Corinthians 12:9); and “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (see 2 Corinthians 13:5).

You can see that this book is rich in its theological diversity and as such the reader does not necessarily need to read the first epistle. As pointed out above there are many salient truths to learn, and there are several lesser known passages that also contain powerful lessons. Including:  1) That we believers have been given the ministry of reconciliation, helping others find Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:11-21); 2) That we are God’s temple and so we should act like we are (see 2 Corinthians 6:14-18); 3) That we in a war and we are called to defend God’s Word (see 2 Corinthians 10:1-18); and 4) That Satan has organized false teachers to counter the gospel message who have successfully infiltrated churches (see 2 Corinthians 11:1-15).

Now with that said, however, to understand the bulk of Paul’s emotions, one should probably first read First Corinthians as Paul experiences some consternation regarding the church’s reaction to his first epistle. While the epistle begins with the understanding that church favorably responded with appropriate remedial action, we later read that Paul is concerned that the report of their response may have been false.

Just like all of other epistles, there will be a lot of instruction to study and ultimately apply in our walk with our Lord. I think you will soon realize why I quote this epistle as often as I do. But before  I close this introduction I want to share two topics that Paul addressed that touched my heart. The first one I already mentioned, we are ambassadors for Jesus. Since He is not here physically, we represent Him all the time, 24/7. What we do and say should always reflect that reality. The second one is associated with defending God’s Word. Paul wrote, “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NLT) God has provided for us weapons to use against human reasoning, false arguments, and any other obstacle that keeps people from knowing and accepting God’s plan for their salvation. We just need to use them!

May God bless you in this truly amazing and theologically diverse epistle. My prayer is that you will be equally intrigued and Spiritually moved as I was when I first read it!

David A. Heywood
Rediscover the Bible Ministries, Inc.