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Chapter Level Commentary:
FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five modern translations. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one main subject.
1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Third paragraph
4. Etc.
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS
A. Chapters 10 through 13 form a literary unit where Paul defends himself against the accusations of the false teachers. The false teachers had made Paul himself the crux of the argument. Therefore, reluctantly, he defends himself on human grounds, using their catch words and rhetorical style. His purpose ultimately was to defend the gospel.
B. Some examples of the charges levied against Paul.
1. He was condescending when face to face, but courageous in his letters, 2Co_10:1; 2Co_10:9; 2Co_10:11.
2. He was acting from the lowest human motives, 2Co_10:2.
3. His personal appearance was not pleasant and his rhetorical delivery was poor; 2Co_10:2; 2Co_10:10
4. He preached simply for money, 2Co_11:8; 2Co_11:12; 2Co_12:16.
C. Paul's enemies
1. There seem to be three groups involved.
a. a native Corinthian contingent (the factions of 1 Corinthians 1-4)
b. a Jewish contingent from Palestine (similar to Judaizers, 2 Corinthians 10-13).
c. possibly a hybrid of both
2. From 1 Corinthians there seem to be groups attacking him for and from opposition positions
a. a legalistic group (asceticism)
b. an antinomian group (libertines)
D. Because Paul mentions several letters that he had written to the church at Corinth, which apparently have not been preserved, there has been scholarly speculation about 2 Corinthians being a composite of these lost letters. It is certainly true that Paul's use of the Epistolary aorist in referring to his different letters has caused confusion as well as the obvious different literary units which make up 2 Corinthians , which often seem to be out of chronological and rational arrangement.
It is surely possible that the disjunctions were caused by Paul writing this letter over a period of time and that new information continued to arrive after he had written a literary unit. The letter begins in a positive affirmation, but then turns negative.
Personally, the possibility that some of Paul's letters were lost does not bother me (possibly they contained information that the Spirit did not want to become Scripture), but the proposed composite nature of 2 Corinthians , which has no evidence in the Greek manuscript tradition nor church tradition, but is simply the speculation of modern western scholars does bother me! We must not force ancient eastern thinkers and writers into modern western literary categories.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. Explain the obvious break between chapters 9 and 10.
2. What were some of the charges of the false teachers against Paul?
3. Why does Paul use military terms to describe his struggle against the false teachers?
4. Were these false teachers sincere Christians who were just wrong on minor points of theology or were they cult leaders who were trying to pervert men from the truth of the Gospel?