Footsteps #218

After reading the last 12 chapters of 2Corinthians and hearing Paul put his case, if you were a member of the jury what would have been your verdict. He has demonstrated that loyalty was conspicuous by its absence. The church was too easily impressed by flashy showmanship and too prone to overlook less spectacular but more valuable qualities of spiritual leadership. They were much too willing to believe false accusations, and to attribute evil motives to him. They evaded responsibility rather than accepting it.

We have reached the last chapter of this amazing book. I have to confess that after reading it and associated commentaries, that my appreciation of not only the book but of Paul himself has been greatly enlightened. Honestly, I never intended to spend so much time reviewing it. It does contain some of my favourite verses e.g 2Cor5:21.

As is often the case in Paul’s letters, he ends this one by summarizing his overall theme and then writing a few postscripts. The overall theme, of course, is the defense of his spiritual authority, his ministry, and the Gospel that was entrusted to him against the concerted attacks of the false teachers who managed to gain the upper hand in the church after Paul left. His appeal for the Corinthians to ‘examine themselves’ is a reference to their standing in God. If a professing Christian’s lifestyle cannot be distinguished from that of an unbeliever, that’s a pretty poor argument for the claim that the Gospel changes lives.

Paul had visited Corinth on two occasions–once to plant the church, a process that took 18 months, and again later to try to deal with some of the conflicts that were wracking the church and destroying its testimony. The second visit was not a pleasant one; it had been a bruising, stressful time during which one of the leaders had apparently openly rebuked Paul, while the rest of the church failed to come to his defense. Now he is planning a third and final visit, and he warns them in advance the he will not spare those who sinned earlier. He is going to confront the evil doers and call them to repentance.