Introduction to 2 Corinthians

God is in the business of transforming lives.  The church in Corinth, as well as most churches all over the world throughout history, was desperately in need of transformation.  One of the key aspects of God’s transforming work in Corinth was the apostle Paul.  Initially, Paul spent about a year and a half ministering in the city and founding the church.  Unfortunately, the church, like the city, was a very immoral church.  Paul made every effort to call this church to repentance.  Apparently he wrote a letter that was lost, which was followed by the letter known as 1 Corinthians.  He then returned to Corinth for a personal visit that did not seem to be successful.  Paul refers to this as a painful visit because apparently the false teachers who were promoting immorality in the church insulted him and questioned his credentials as an apostle.  The painful visit was followed by a severe letter that was lost but apparently had a positive effect.  Paul had left Titus in Corinth to minister there in his absence.  Paul and Titus meet in Macedonia, most likely in Philippi, where Titus informs Paul that God’s work of transformation had begun to take hold in the lives of the church.  Paul is thrilled with this news which leads him to write the letter we are looking at called 2 Corinthians.  In this letter Paul recognizes that the false teachers who were trying to dominate the church in Corinth were doing so by trying to discredit him so that they would have an easier time getting the church to abandon Paul’s teachings.  Paul wants to make sure to reinforce his own position in the church in order to prevent this from happening.  Transformation often takes a long time to appear but God is faithful to use His servants that are empowered by His Spirit to accomplish this work of transformation in the lives of His children.

PAUL DESCRIBES HIS LEADERSHIP: Churches and ministries rise and fall based on leadership.  Paul was a great example of a leader who was used by God to bring many people into the kingdom.  Often times, we mistakenly equate leadership with popularity.  It is true that leaders attract followers; but it is often true that leaders offend people.  The church in Corinth was being tolerant of sin and immorality.  It was absolutely necessary for Paul to discipline them and call them to repentance.  It was not easy or popular.  Godly leaders will insist on doing the right thing even in the face of harsh criticism.  Another trait of godly leadership is a selfless focus on others.  Paul is not out to build a name for himself or to promote his own success story.  He recognizes that his own “success” is completely dependent upon the success of those who are following him.  Paul recognizes that his job as a leader is to serve the people in an effort to help them become more like the Lord Jesus Christ.  The proper evaluation of a leader is determined by the follower’s conformity to Christ.  Suffering and personal sacrifice is another trait of godly leadership.  We must never think that biblical leadership will be built at the expense of others.  Too often we see examples of leaders who are hungry for power, glory and fame.  They scratch and claw their way to the top at the expense of others.  Godly leaders recognize that their purpose is to exalt the Lord and they are willing to suffer and, if needs be, die in order to serve others in a way that helps them to live for the glory of God.  There are many tools that leaders use.  Leaders must communicate as they tell others what is expected.  However, godly leaders will always lead first through their example.  Paul constantly told his followers to do what he did.  The integrity of a leader is determined by his consistency in exemplifying the things that he says.  Another mark of Paul’s leadership was to demand loyalty by demonstrating love.  He longed for the church to be loyal to him by expressing his own love for them.  It is vitally important for us to love the people we lead if we expect any kind of loyalty from them.  Another mark of a good leader is that they will challenge their followers to be the very best that they can be.  Paul was gathering an offering to help the church in Jerusalem.  He wanted his followers to have the joy of participating in the Lord’s work so he challenged them to be generous.  Good leaders will love people just the way they are but will love them too much to leave them there.  True leaders change the lives of people for the glory of God.

PAUL DEFENDS HIS APOSTLESHIP: Authority is not something that we are really comfortable with in today’s society.  The idea of submitting to authority is rarely appealing to people; in fact, it usually makes our skin crawl.  Paul was an apostle so his teaching is marked by a divinely appointed authority.  In the previous meetings and communications that authority came under attack.  There was a faction in the church that sought to promote its own agenda by trying to discredit Paul.  Their thought process was that if they could attack Paul it would be much easier to tear down the doctrines and practices that Paul had established in the church.  Paul rigorously defends his apostleship in a way that almost makes us uncomfortable.  In some ways it sounds like Paul is “tooting his own horn.”  What we need to recognize is that Paul was not just out to promote his own agenda like his opponents were striving to do; Paul was defending sound doctrine.  Paul’s teachings were not his own they were divinely inspired.  Paul was not concerned about his own reputation or his own status; but he was vitally concerned with the doctrine and practice of the church.  Paul was able to defend his own authority because it was genuine and because his actions were consistent with the Scriptures.  He was able to point to his own conduct as proof of his integrity and yet another reason why the people should continue to follow his teachings.  Anyone who has a title must recognize that, in reality, their title will only carry authority that is proportionate to their integrity.  In addition to his integrity, Paul could point to his willingness to suffer personally in order to advance the cause of Christ.  Paul could easily point to his sufferings as a proof of his own conviction as to the truth of his message.  Nobody would be willing to suffer all that Paul suffered in order to defend a lie.  Paul’s suffering lends credibility to his teachings.  A leader’s authority is established due to his own personal commitment and willingness to pay the price for his convictions.  This is the pattern that Jesus established and was followed by all of the apostles.  It should be the standard by which leaders are evaluated today as well.  Paul’s credentials as an apostle are supported by his teaching, his personal integrity and his willingness to suffer.  The church today is desperately in need of authority that is willing to follow this model.