2 Cor 5:1-10 part 1

Due to the popular demand of a small minority I am making an attempt to reenter the blogosphere. ( Good news maybe to Jeremy Weaver and Brian Joines) I decided to share excerpts from my favorite paper I wrote last semester. The paper came from my 2 Corinthians Greek Exegesis class. This paper is very dear to my heart because God through it pointed me to a text that comforted me during some difficult times. Last semester I had a number of things that brought me some heart ache and perplexed moments. God used this paper to remind me "to look to the things that are unseen and not to the things that are seen". Through it he reminded me of his goodness and that we as Christians can not evaluate life through the way things appear in the current moment, that will only lead to despair. Instead life needs to be evaluated through the lens of Christ. All the promises of God are yes in Christ, and we know that our slight momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison! This is a good reason not lose heart as we look to the things that unseen not seen.

Part 1 is the Historical Context. Part 2 will be the Text and Interpretation. My footnotes and sources will be at the bottom of the post.

EXEGESIS OF 2 CORINTHIANS 5:1-10

Historical Context

2 Corinthians is the fourth in a series of the Paul’s letters to the Corinthian church. The first letter being a non-canonical letter which is referenced in 1 Cor 5:9 and is often referred to as Corinthians A.[1] Paul is informed while he is ministering in Ephesus of the many problems in Corinth through some of Chloe’s household (1 Cor 1:11). These problems included factionalism, immorality, a right understanding of marriage, disputes over food sacrificed to idols, disputes between men and women over head coverings, proper use of spiritual gifts and a proper understanding of the resurrection.[2] Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (or Corinthians B) to address these problems. This letter had a limited degree of success, which is evidenced by a “painful visit” (2 Cor 2:1) the apostle made to the Corinthians. Paul continued his correspondence with the Corinthians with a harsh letter (Corithians C) that both hurt the Corinthians and brought about repentance (2 Cor 7:8,9). Paul’s third letter did bring about repentance, but the repentance was still not yet universal, and Paul would continue his work with the Corinthians toward restoration, reconciliation and repentance until the Corinthian’s obedience would be complete prompting 2 Corinthians (or Corinthians D).

The Apostle Paul still had many issues of contention with the Corinthians that still need to be addressed as the apostle continued his pastoral ministry of seeking repentance and reconciliation from his Corinthian congregation. Many of these issues are related to Paul defending his competency against the false apostles whose influence undercut Paul’s authority in Corinth.[3] One commentator explains it this way, “…in 2 Corinthians we encounter Paul the apologist, fighting for the legitimacy of his own apostolic ministry.” [4]

The false apostles, who were able to undermine Paul, could play on the Corinthian’s culture for the false criteria to judge the true apostle. Garland states it this way, “ The breach between Paul and the Corinthians was not simply over theological issues but had its roots in the Corinthian cultural values that clashed with Christian values he wanted them to adopt.”[5] Corinth as a rich and prosperous city equated prosperity with blessing.[6] This false assumption caused the apostle problems because of his lowly state, especially compared to false apostles, who appeared prosperous, by worldly standards. Paul needed to bring the Corinthians to a paradigm shift in their thinking, in order to respond to the charges of the false apostles. This response needed to destroy the false criteria of the worldly Corinthians, which they used to judge Paul’s ministry. This response defended Paul’s gospel ministry and allowed the Corinthians to have a fuller understanding of the gospel.

Paul writes 2 Corinthians to bring this necessary change of thinking to the Corinthians. Paul reinforces the biblical truth that it is one’s weakness that makes one strong. He sets himself as an example and shows that his sufficiency is external to himself. Paul refutes the Corinthians “health and wealth” gospel and reminds them that the Christian life is taking up ones cross and following Jesus.[7] Paul demonstrates that worldly status is not the same as divine exaltation. Paul accomplishes this by showing the Corinthians that one’s boasting and blessing can only be grounded in the Lord and not in the temporary and perishable things of this world. This truth should completely destroy any pride in the corruptible, material and transitory things of this world thus vindicating Paul’s ministry and showing that his lowliness is to show God’s power and greatness. This is evident in 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 as one sees their currently earthly state contrasted against their heavenly dwelling that the believer will possess in the presence of the Lord.

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[1] D.A Carson and Douglas Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament, 2^nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 422.

[2]Ibid. , 415-417.

[3] Ibid., 419.

[4] Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000), 21.

[5] David E. Garland, 2 Corinthians, The New American Commentary, vol. 29 (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers,1999), 30

[6] cf. 1Cor 1:18-29, see also 2 Cor 10-12

[7] cf. Luke 9:23