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2022 EditionDr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians9MESSAGEThe subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, specifically the church's work ofservice in the world. This is the central concept that Paul dealt with in thisepistle.What did he say about Christian ministry? He spoke about two aspects ofministry: the nature of Christian ministry, and the practice of Christianministry.I will comment first on what Paul revealed about the nature of Christianministry, what ministry is in and of itself. This is what Paul spoke of mostoften in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on thepractice of ministry than on the nature of ministry. In both epistles Pauldealt mainly with the doctrine of ecclesiology: the church.Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. JesusChrist is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer hisor her particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18,28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church had a major problem becausesome in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ asan apostle—and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was apractical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bowto the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and respondingappropriately to those whom He has appointed to various roles in the body.We identify these people by their gifts (divinely-given abilities) and by theiroffices (divinely-given positions).Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church'sministry. He emphasized three resources primarily:One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this inthe first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in many Englishtranslations, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort throughencouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as ourHelper, Comforter, Advocate, or Intercessor in John 14—16. Paul bothtaught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfortalways exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret tofinding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is reallyproceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed too.

10Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians2022 EditionA second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or amessage that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thusrevelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personalencouragement. We Christians too have received the same message tocommunicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation,and it is the source of our encouragement.A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for, and countedon, the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through himas he ministered (1:11a). He realized that his own prayers would not moveGod to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf.James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self more thanconfidence in God.In addition to the authority and resources of Christian ministry, Paul alsohad a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three featuresmark experience in ministry:First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in2 Corinthians about the afflictions that he experienced during his ministry.Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministrywho is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcomethe gospel. To them it is as distasteful as the smell of a dead body. Weshould expect to experience tribulation in ministry. Almost all Christianswho share the gospel with others have experienced this to some extent.Second, another thing that marks our ministry as Christians is hope. Godhas revealed the end of our ministry. Faithful believers will all stand beforeJesus Christ and receive rewards one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty.The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and sufferdiscouragement rather than pressing on toward the goal (Phil. 3:14). Theend of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.Third, another component of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealedand illustrated, by his own attitude, that no matter how the response toour ministry may appear to us, our ministry is always triumphant. Thereason for this is that God is always at work through His ministers. One ofthe problems that Paul's critics in Corinth had, and that we sometimeshave, is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather thanrealistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God hasrevealed is really happening, not what appears to be happening.

2022 EditionDr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians11Paul not only revealed much about the nature of Christian ministry in 2Corinthians, but he also revealed a lot about the practice of ministry by thechurch in the world. Three emphases predominate:First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is, namely, the revealedWord of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. In his day, God's Wordconsisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he andthe other New Testament prophets had received that were for allChristians. Paul contrasted his message, and ours, with the message ofMoses, and he rejoiced in its superiority. We can now see God's glory clearlyrevealed in the person of Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 1).Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry tothe world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world'ssins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letterin both of these respects. As these characteristics mark us, we too, will beready to minister.Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. Inexercising its ministry, the church does three things, according to thisepistle:First, it exercises discipline to restore the erring brother to effectiveministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of therebellious critics in the Corinthian church, restoration to unity andusefulness.Second, the church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul'sconcern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be anencouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel couldproceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond Corinth.Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate theprinciple of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history,namely, that those who have should share with those who have not. Thisapplies not only to the gospel message but also to the physical necessitiesof life (chs. 8—9).From these emphases the message of the book emerges: The church needsto submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources andequipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its

12Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians2022 Editionmission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaimingthe message of reconciliation to the world.11Adapted47.from G. Campbell Morgan, Living Messages of the Books of the Bible, 2:1:131-

2022 EditionI.Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians13INTRODUCTION 1:1-11Like most of Paul's epistles, this one begins with a salutation to therecipients. Then words of thanksgiving to God for His encouraging comfortfollow.A.SALUTATION 1:1-2This salutation contains the three elements common in all of Paul's epistlesand other correspondence of his day: the writer, the addressees, and agreeting."This salutation exhibits undoubted resemblances in form tosecular letters that have come down to us from the sameperiod. But the differences are greater, and that in threerespects. There is the firm assertion of Apostolic authority, theclear indication that those whom he addresses are not ordinarypeople but a consecrated society, and the spiritual characterof the good wishes he sends them."11:1Students of Paul's epistles have suggested variousexplanations of why the apostle preferred to use his name Paulrather than his name Saul. Some say that he did so to markthe spiritual conquest of Sergius Paulus (Acts 13:6-12).Others claim that he did so to show himself the least of theapostles, since "Paul" means "little" (cf. Eph. 3:8; 1 Tim.1:15). The meaning of "Paul" has led some to think that hewas small in physical stature. Perhaps he did so because theGreek form of the Hebrew name Saul was objectionable, sinceit was identical with an adjective that meant effeminate. Hemay have done so simply because it was customary for Romancitizens to bear a Roman name as well as one that reflectedtheir own nationality.2 Since Paul's ministry was mainly among1Plummer,2Seep. 5. See also W. G. Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity, pp. 21-47.Hughes, pp. 1-2.

Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians142022 EditionGentiles he may have preferred to use his Roman name ratherthan his Jewish name.Paul's use of the term apostle (lit. one sent forth with orders)so early in his salutation sets the tone for the entire epistle. Itis largely a vindication of his apostleship. He claimed apostolicauthority at once.Often Paul mentioned his apostleship in his epistles in order tolend authority to what he wrote, especially when that authoritywas being challenged by some of his readers. But RichardLenski insisted that Paul's purpose was primarily to express hisown consciousness of bearing a heavy responsibility withregard to his readers.1 Probably Paul had both purposes inmind.The Lord's title is also significant though not unusual. Paulcalled Him Christ (God's Anointed One sent forth as the apostlefrom heaven; v. 20; cf. Heb. 3:1; John 20:21) and Jesus (Godin action delivering His people from their sins, Savior; 5:19; cf.Matt. 1:21).Paul claimed that his apostleship came to him by the will ofGod, not by his own or the church's initiative (cf. John 1:13;Gal. 1:1; Eph. 2:8). The gift and office of apostle were specialin the early church. Only 12 individuals plus Paul were officialapostles (1 Cor. 15:8; Acts 1:21-22; 9:15). However the wordapostle occurs elsewhere in the non-technical sense of anyonesent on God's great mission of spreading the gospel (cf. 8:23;Acts 14:4, 14; Phil. 2:25; et al.).The recipients of this epistle knew Timothy well (v.19, Acts18:5). He had come to faith in Christ evidently through Paul'sministry in Lystra in Asia Minor (Acts 14:8-20; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2Tim. 1:2). He had accompanied Paul on his journeys from thesecond missionary journey on (Acts 16:1-3), and he had goneto Corinth as the apostle's representative (1 Cor. 4:17;16:10).1Lenski,pp. 806-7.

2022 EditionDr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians15Paul noted in passing that the church (Greek ekklesia, lit. calledout ones, in this case the company of Christians) belongs toGod. Even though it was at Corinth it was God's church. It didnot belong to the Corinthians or their teachers. Therefore itsprimary allegiance had to be to Him.Corinth was an important commercial center. The city mayhave contained over a half-million inhabitants at this time.1 Itstood on the narrow land bridge (isthmus) that connected thesouthern part of Greece (the Peloponnesus) with the northernpart. The southern part and some of the northern partcomprised the Roman province of Achaia, while the provinceof Macedonia lay immediately to the north of Achaia. Corinthwas not only the chief city through which land commercepassed north and south, but it was the center for seacommerce and travelers going east and west.To the east the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea brought shipsto Corinth. From there stevedores transferred their cargoesoverland a few miles to ships in the Corinthian Gulf of the IonianSea. This shortcut saved merchants the long trip around thesouthern coastline of Greece. Corinth was the capital of theprovince of Achaia and the headquarters of a Roman proconsul(governor). It had been the notorious center for the immoralworship of the goddess Aphrodite, and its population wascosmopolitan, consisting of Romans, Greeks, Orientals, andJews.Paul and his missionary band had established a church inCorinth on his second missionary journey (Acts 18). Jews andGentiles comprised it. Paul had labored in Corinth a year and ahalf then. Due to the influence of its culture, as well as that offalse teachers, the church experienced many temptations anddifficulties. I outlined Paul's dealings with this church, followingits founding, in the introduction to this exposition above. Insummary, Paul seems to have visited Corinth three times, and1HomerA. Kent Jr., A Heart Opened Wide, p. 27.

16Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians2022 Editionthe New Testament refers to four letters that he wrote to thischurch.1Paul called the addressees saints (Gr. hagioi, lit. holy ones,those set apart for God, cf. 1 Cor. 1:2)."All Christians are 'holy' in virtue, not of their lives,but of their calling; they are set apart in a holySociety as servants and sons of the Holy God."2Paul intended that the Corinthian Christians would read thisepistle in the church, but he also wanted all the Christians inthe province of Achaia to read it. We know that at this timethere was another church in nearby Cenchrea (Rom. 16:1) andthere may have been one in nearby Athens (Acts 17:34).31:2This greeting expresses Paul's wish that God's grace and peacewould be his readers' portion. He named these benefits in theintroductions to each one of his epistles. He meant sustaininggrace rather than saving grace, and the peace of God ratherthan peace with God."'Grace to you' means: May God and the Lord giveyou an abundance of their undeserved gifts."4"In the protocol of salvation, recognized even in asalutation, grace always precedes peace. Theformer is the basis and foundation of the latter;therefore, the order cannot be changed. No mancan have peace who has not previouslyexperienced divine grace (cf. 8:9)."51SeeDonald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 2:48-61; Plummer, xiii-xix; Hughes, xvixix; and Batey, pp. 143-6.2Plummer, p. 3.3Quotations from the English Bible in these notes are from the New American StandardBible (NASB), 2020 edition, unless otherwise indicated.4Lenski, p. 810.5Broomall, p. 1261.

2022 EditionDr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians17"Grace and peace, the favour of God and its fruits,comprehend all the benefits of redemption."1The combination of grace and peace in Paul's greeting, bothhere and elsewhere, unites Greek and Semitic terms to form anunconventional greeting (cf. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; Gal. 1:3;Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:2; Phile.3; 1 Pet. 1:2; 2 Pet. 1:2). Though the general structure of thesalutation was typical of the day, the terms that Paul usedwere uniquely Christian.2The familiar language of this verse implies the deity of JesusChrist. Jesus is, along with God the Father, the source of graceand peace."This could not be so were He a created entity andnot the co-eternal and consubstantial Son."3Furthermore Jesus is Lord. The Septuagint, which uses thistitle to translate the name Yahweh in the Old Testament, mayhave influenced Paul to use it also for Jesus Christ.4 Thecontemporary religious terminology of oriental Hellenism(ancient Greek culture) also used this title to denote deity.Whatever the influences on Paul may have been, the term Lordundoubtedly implied the deity of Christ.5B.THANKSGIVING FOR COMFORT IN AFFLICTION 1:3-11In this pericope (section of text) Paul gave thanks to God for the comfort(vv. 3-7) and deliverance (vv. 8-11) that he had experienced recently. Hewanted to enable his readers to appreciate what he as an apostle hadendured for Christ and the super-abounding comfort that God supplied tocompensate for all the afflictions that he had suffered for His sake.1CharlesHodge, An Exposition of the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, p. 4.Judith Lieu, "'Grace to You and Peace': The Apostolic Greeting," Bulletin of the JohnRylands University Library of Manchester 68:1 (Autumn 1985):161-78.3Hughes, p. 7.4The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) thatwas made in the third century B.C.5See J. Greshem Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion, p. 198.2See

Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians182022 Edition"It [this section] is no mere amiable preamble intended only tocushion the sterner matters which the Apostle is shortly tobroach. On the contrary, it is very much of a piece with themajor theme of the opening portion of this epistle, namely,Paul's vindication of his own integrity."1Paul's main concern in this section was that his readers learn the values ofhis experiences, not just the facts concerning what had happened to him.Consequently he dealt with these first. He shared the effects of hisexperiences (vv. 3-7), and then told them about one experience (vv. 811).Paul's almost invariable practice of following salutation with thanksgiving inhis epistles was a common feature of secular letters in his day.2 Comparedwith his other epistles, however, there is some difference in thisthanksgiving."St. Paul usually thanks God for some grace bestowed on thosewhom he addresses, and hence his omission of theThanksgiving in the stern letter to the Galatians; here and in 1Tim. 1:12 he gives thanks for benefits bestowed on himself.But his readers are not forgotten (vv. 6, 7); it is largely ontheir account that he is so thankful."31.Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7The Greek word translated blessed (eulogetos) occurs eighttimes in the New Testament, mostly in Paul's writings. It alwaysoccurs with the mention of God. It expresses both gratitudeand adoration (cf. Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet. 1:3).1:3"Adored be God! is the expression of the highestveneration and thankfulness."4To Jesus Christ, God is both God and Father (cf. John 20:17).In His humiliation as a man Jesus related to God as His God (cf.1Hughes,p. 9.p. 5.2Plummer,3Ibid.4Hodge,p. 4.

2022 EditionDr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians19Mark 15:34). However within the Godhead, God was Jesus'Father (cf. Heb. 10:7). In other words, God was the God of thedependent Jesus in His human nature, but He was the Fatherof the infinite Christ in His divine nature (c

4 Dr. Constable's Notes on 2 Corinthians 2021 Edition Another view is that the "former letter" is 1 Corinthians, and "the offender" (2 Cor. 2:5; 7:12) is the incestuous man of 1 Corinthians 5:1.1 "Acco