2 Corinthians

Author, Date, and Recipients

The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia around A.D. 55/56. This was approximately a year after he wrote 1 Corinthians and a year before he wrote his letter to the Romans. This is the fourth letter he had written to the Corinthian church (in addition to 1 Corinthians, see the letters mentioned in 1 Cor. 5:9 and 2 Cor. 2:3–4).

Theme

The central theme of 2 Corinthians is the relationship between suffering and the power of the Spirit in Paul’s apostolic life, ministry, and message. Paul’s opponents had questioned his motives and his personal courage. They argued that he had suffered too much to be a Spirit-filled apostle of the risen Christ. But Paul argues that his suffering is the means God uses to reveal his glory (1:3–4, 11, 20).

Purpose

Paul vindicates his apostolic ministry in order to (1) strengthen the faithful majority in Corinth (primarily chs. 1–7); (2) encourage them to contribute to the financial needs of other believers, as an expression of their repentance (primarily chs. 8–9); and (3) offer the rebellious minority in Corinth another chance to repent before he returns to judge those still rejecting him and his message (primarily chs. 10–13).

Reference: https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/introduction-to-2-corinthians/

Sermons:

• Become a Fool for Christ-2 Cor 12:11-21
• A Tormenting Thorn-2 Cor 12:1-10
• Show Off like a Fool-2 Cor 11:16-33
• Examine Yourself-2 Cor 13
• Don’t Compare and Commend Yourself-2 Cor 10:12-18
• Bold, Weak and Unimpressive-2 Cor 10:1-11
• Give a Lot-2 Cor 9:6-15
• Give to the Needy-2 Cor 8:13-9:5
• Give Your Money Generously-2 Cor 8:1-12
• Perfecting Purity-2 Cor 6:11-7:4
• NOW is the Time-2 Cor 6:1-10
• Reconciliation-2 Cor 5:11-21
• Regeneration-2 Cor 4:7-17
• Illumination-2 Cor 4:1-6
• God’s Aroma-2 Cor 2:14-3:6
• Being Criticised-2 Cor 1:12-24
• Facing Death-2 Cor 1:1-11