John Mark Hicks

The one who grieved Paul (and the Corinthian congregation as a whole) should not be burdened with excessive grief but forgiven and consoled. Paul does not seek revenge for the wrong but reconciliation. That is a bold claim. Apparently, the severe letter Paul wrote after his second (painful) visit addressed the problem this particular individual […]

Some Corinthians thought Paul was fickle and unreliable because he changed his plans and did not show up in ways they expected or Paul had intimated. Paul responded that his decisions—his plan changes—were  rooted in God’s faithful grace rather than human wisdom. There was more, however, to the situation than simply the rearrangement of Paul’s […]

Paul makes ministry decisions according to the grace of God grounded in the faithfulness of God rather than according to fleshly or human wisdom rooted in self-interest and egoism. His goal is not to attain celebrity status within Greco-Roman culture but to embody God’s faithfulness for the sake of others. Given Paul’s relationship with the […]

The God who raises the dead addresses desolation with consolation through the suffering and victory of Jesus the Messiah. Salutation (2 Corinthians 1:1-2) Like most letters in the ancient Greco-Roman world, 2 Corinthians begins with an identification of the sender and its recipients. In this case, Paul is the sender and the church at Corinth […]

This outline follows and adapts the work of Frank J. Matera, II Corinthians: A Commentary, New Testament Library (Louisville: WJK, 2003). Opening: Salutation and Doxology (1:1-11). Part 1 – The Crisis Over Paul’s Apostolic Integrity (1:12-7:16). Paul Narrates Recent Events (1:12-2:13). The Letter’s Theme (1:12-14). Paul’s Reliability (1:15-22). A Change of Plans and a Harsh […]

Reading 2 Corinthians, we find ourselves in the middle of a conversation about which we are largely ignorant. The Conversation We were not there when Paul founded the congregation at Corinth or his subsequent two visits. We don’t have access to two other letters Paul wrote to Corinth; we only have two of four (and […]