According to the commentary I'm reading (Evolution of the Word by Marcus J.Borg) most scholars agree that 2 Corinthians is actually a compilation of parts of different letters Paul wrote to the Corinthian church. Some even believe that the end comes first and that some of the comments about a previous letter in the early chapters actually refer to the letter of which chapters 10-13 are a part.
Generally it is believed that the three main divisions are chapters 1-7, 8-9, and 10-13 and that they are not necessarily kept in the order they were received. I would think, however, that these partial letters, be they 1, 3 or more, would contain important pieces of information if they were the portions carefully preserved by the Corinthians. I prefer to look at that, rather than try to figure out which part of the letter goes with which other part. It is helpful, however, to recognize that this may not have been written as one cohesive unit.
Borg points out that the tone of the first 7 chapters is quite different from the latter few chapters, and that in them "we find some of the most radiant and luminous language in all of Paul's letters." Chapters 10-13, in contrast, sound angry and defensive. Chapters 8-9 seem to be more business like - dealing with the collection for the "impoverished Christian Jewish community"(p103) in Jerusalem. If we go with Borg's timeline, we should read chapters 10-13 first, then chapter 8-9 (which may be more than one letter), then, finally, the conciliatory and inspiring chapters 1-7. I read it as it stands in the Bible, for we don't really know the timeline, or even if it is one letter or parts of more - so I just read the whole thing. While the divisions are there, it could be different points in one letter - but I will defer to the experts and acknowledge it could be parts of 3 (or more) letters.
The point of 2 Corinthians is less clear to me than that of some of the epistles. Again this could be due to it actually being parts of different letters with different points. Paul obviously wants to defend himself against some attack in the latter chapters, but is this the main point?
After the greeting, Paul states that God is the God of all consolation who consoles us so we can console others. Maybe this is one cohesive point. Our coming through times of affliction help us know what to do to help others going through the same thing. Recognizing that we have made mistakes helps us forgive others who wrong us. Making our way through anxiety helps us learn and teach others to rely on God's strength. So we are constantly learning and God is speaking to us through our various situations.
"Since..we have such a hope, we act with boldness: (3: 12). "Since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart" (4:1). "So we do not lose heart: (4:16). We are dependent on God's strength and faithfulness. Whatever we go through, God is there, will help us through, and will help us learn from it.
"Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us;our competence is from God." (3:4)"But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us" (4:7)
There are many encouraging quotes from the first few chapters, but they do seem to emphasize that our value does not come from our own capabilities, but from God working in spite of, or even through our weaknesses and trials. We are not competent in and of ourselves. We are just clay jars. In other words, we don't have to (and can't) do it all, but need to trust God to work through us and in whatever we are going through. There is some relief in that. It takes some pressure off our actions.
While not totally uplifting, the defense in the latter chapters does give us some insight into Paul and his life and experience.On second thought, maybe this is inspiring. With all Paul went through, he continued to preach and teach all over the world as he knew it. He was not universally loved and accepted. He was forced to defend himself more than once. Yet he kept going - not introducing himself with all his credentials first, but putting forth his message first. He expected people to accept that on its own merit. Sometimes it gets frustrating when people don't acknowledge the scholarship or experience of speakers/pastors but write them off because they don't agree. This is nothing new. So I guess those who are trying to share even as important a message as Jesus as messiah, or God as love, are still in good company when they get written off as reading Scripture incorrectly or being heretical. Even Paul was written off by some. I tend to get very frustrated when this happens to me, but I have nowhere near the credentials Paul had, so I guess have no right to expect to be listened to and/or have my perspective respected at all times. It is sad that we are so dismissive of each other - but Paul hung in there, I guess each of us should too.
So this is the flip side of my other point - we may not have to be able to do it all - but we should keep doing something. We need to persevere - continue to work so God can work through us more easily.
I guess I would say the message of 2 Corinthians is to keep on going and trust God to use you and your talents, efforts, and mistakes to speak to others. (Trust and Obey, for there's no other way....) God can use whatever we are going through - to teach us, to help us better embody the message of love, to which we are called, to give us the credentials to validate our message. This seems, in a way, to encapsulate a lot of what he has said before. It is not all about me or you, it is about God and spreading the message that Jesus came to give us. We may have to go through hard times, may have to endure disrespect and even slander, may suffer anxiety, financial hardship, and even physical abuse. Through all this God can, either directly or through others, console us, strengthen us, and use us to help others find their way. In short: Hang in there! God can do it!
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